The Solstheim Conspiracy
by Lord Leachim
Summary: NOW COMPLETE! After three years confined in a dark prison cell, all I wanted was to get out of Morrowind forever and return to my homeland in Skyrim. But instead, I wound up on the miserable island of Solstheim. I thought I could escape my past, but now I've found myself drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. If I ever want to get off the island, I'm going to have to fight for my life.
1. Chapter 1

1

The boat struck the edge of the dock with a heavy thud, the sudden impact waking me from my slight nap. The trip from the village of Khuul had taken more than six hours, and with nothing much to do but wait, I had drowsed off. I slid off the crate I had been sitting on and slung my empty bag over my shoulder.

The boat's captain lifted up the hatch and called down below, "We're here. Everybody up top." Two men appeared from the small crew quarters beyond the hatch and made for the ladder, completely ignoring me. I followed them up and immediately shielded my eyes from the bright white sky above us, my eyes having long since gotten used to the dim candlelight of the cargo hold of the ship. I stepped out onto the deck and glanced back at the sea behind us, separating me from the island country of Vvardenfell.

"Don't waste time, lass," the captain called to me.

I turned away from the sea and crossed the deck. The two crew members lugged past me, carrying baskets of fruit and small crates of supplies. I hopped over the railing and landed on the slippery dock, almost losing my footing. The captain tossed me a thick rope and I quickly tied it to one of the dock posts.

"You can stay and help us unload if you want," he said. "I'll pay you a few septims for your trouble."

"Thank you," I said. I'd spent the last of my purse buying passage on the boat and did not have a septim to my name, so the prospect of coming ashore with some money was very welcome. They swung a thick plank over the edge onto the dock and began hauling crates and barrels off the ship. I couldn't carry the heavy crates, but I managed to unload half a dozen baskets and helped the captain carry out a few barrels of wheat.

Two Imperial guards watched us from the edge of the dock near the beach and a few other men stood around at one of the other docks, but none of them made a move toward us. Finally, when we were nearly finished unloading the boat, the guards decided to come over. I leaned against the crates of supplies, acting as if I belonged there. Both guards eyed me up casually, but said nothing as they approached the captain.

"Here you go, lads," he said, handing one of them a cargo manifest. "Just put a stamp on there and I'll be on my way."

The guard scanned the list, his expression hardening. "No wine? No drink of any kind?"

"None that anyone told me about," the captain said. "Just what's on the list."

The guard swore to himself and pulled a stamp from a pouch on his belt. He marked the manifest and thrust it back at the captain angrily. "Fine, be off then. The wagon is coming to pick this up."

"Pleasure doing business," the captain said with a toothy smile. He tore off the second sheet of the manifest and handed it to the guards. I got the distinct impression that he and the Imperials weren't on very good terms, but it was none of my concern.

The crew members untied the rope and tossed it back on the deck, and then walked back onto the boat and pulled the plank up. The captain leaned over the railing and waved at me. "Have a good one, lass," he said, dropping down a small pouch. I caught it in both hands and opened it to see at least 30 septims inside.

"This is as much as I paid you for the trip," I said, surprised.

The captain nodded. "I feel guilty having people pay me to bring them to this godforsaken place. Keep the money, lass. If you get sick of it here and want a ride back to Vvardenfell, I deliver here every week. Take care of yourself, now."

I tucked the pouch into my belt. "Thank you," I said.

With that, they shoved the boat off and began the trip back to Khuul. I watched the boat for a few moments and then turned to look at the new place before me. The shoreline was completely devoid of trees or plants, nothing but rocky sand in either direction. Waves slapped tiredly against the lifeless shore.

A cold breeze blew along the dock and I shivered, rubbing my hands together. Working to unload the boat had warmed me, but now that I was standing around, the cold weather was more noticeable. I was not dressed for this weather, wearing only thin leather shoes, pants, and a wool tunic. They were the same clothes I had when they first dropped me off in Seyda Neen just a few days before. I didn't anticipate Solstheim being so much colder, since even at Khuul it had been fairly warm. I was accustomed to the cold, but I would need better clothes if I wanted to stay here, although that was not even my first concern.

First, I had to find somewhere to stay. There had to be a village or something around here, and my newly-full purse would be at least enough to buy a night's stay at an inn and perhaps a hot meal tonight.

I walked over to the guards who were going through the items on the dock and checking them against their copy of the manifest. I stood for a moment, waiting for one of them to notice me, but they seemed intent to ignore me instead.

"Excuse me," I said. "Which way is the closest inn?"

His back to me, one of the guards hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "Follow the dirt road there. Takes you all the way to the fort."

"The fort?"

"Frostmoth. All new arrivals go there."

"There's not a village nearby?"

"None closer than the fort, and none that take kindly to newcomers. Now get out of our way, girl. We have work to do."

I shrugged at his rudeness and walked off the dock, again bracing myself against a cold breeze. I wrapped my arms around myself and walked off the wooden dock to the ground. The ground seemed frozen beneath my feet as I headed up the beach to the wide dirt road leading inland.

I still wasn't entirely sure what I intended to do here on Solstheim. When they had first set me free in Seyda Neen, my only goal had been to get off of Vvardenfell and out of Morrowind completely. I ignored their directions to Balmora and threw away the package for my contact there.

Instead, I traveled up the coast until I made it to Khuul, stealing and begging along the way. I had hoped to buy passage to Skyrim from there, but I was told the next cargo ship making that trek would not return for another two weeks. The boat leaving for Solstheim left much sooner, and I didn't have the money or the patience to remain in Khuul. Surely, I could find some village on the coast that had ships going to Skyrim. I was anxious to return home.


	2. Chapter 2

2

After a few minutes of walking uphill in the cold wind, the fort appeared in front of me. Like all of the Imperial Guard forts in Vvardenfell, it was basically a large square with one main gate and a tower on each corner. Large fir trees flanked it on each side and spread out into the forest beyond, white snow laying heavily on their branches.

A few guards along the top of the wall glanced down at me as I approached the gate, but they paid me little mind, so I just went through the large archway without asking permission. The open courtyard looked pretty bleak, with a few guards meandering around, a broken cart along one of the walls, and some empty crates stacked in a corner. It was hardly a welcoming sight.

There were three buildings within the main wall, one on each other side of the fort, and each of them three stories tall. Since all forts are designed the same way, I knew that they were the command office, the guard quarters and armory, and the Imperial Cult offices, although I didn't know which one was which. I felt strange just walking uninvited into a building, so I approached one of the guards standing around.

"Excuse me," I said.

"Who are you? Did you come on the supply boat?" he asked immediately.

"Yes," I said.

"Did they have anything to drink? Flin? Brandy? Anything?"

The question seemed out of place, but I remembered that the guards on the dock had asked the ship captain the same thing. "I don't think so," I said.

The guard swore and shook his head. He looked away and seemed content to ignore me, so I walked in front of him and said, "I need somewhere to stay. Who do I talk to?"

"Captain Carius," the guard said with a sigh, pointing over his shoulder. "You have to sign in with him."

"Thank you," I said curtly, and walked off.

Imperial Legion soldiers were not known to be the most friendly or the most hospitable bunch of men in Tamriel, but my icy reception here was beginning to bother me. At the very least, I expected the men here to be more helpful merely because I was female, and there were rarely any women stationed at forts like this. Especially one so far from the mainland. The men here probably had not seen a woman for weeks, but so far they seemed annoyed to even have to look at me.

I opened up the door to the command office, the building the guard had pointed at, and walked inside to feel a wonderful rush of warm air greet me. I shivered uncontrollably for a moment and then immediately felt better. I flexed my fingers and stamped by cold feet on the hard floor, glad to be in a warm building again.

This time I didn't bother to ask directions. The Captain's office was always on the top floor of the office building, so I went to the stairway and started going up. When I reached the third floor, I walked down the hall, passing two sour-looking guards who glared at me but said nothing, and approached a door at the end of the hall with a gold-plated Captain's emblem on it.

I knocked politely and heard a voice from inside inviting me in. I pushed the heavy door open and found myself in a sparsely-decorated office that was far too large for the amount of furniture inside it. There was a small, well-worn desk and a few chairs, and some oil lamps sitting atop crates instead of tables. The curtains on the walls were brown or red with the Imperial Legion sign, but there were no other decorations.

A man came out of an adjacent room, fussing with the collar of his shirt underneath his elaborate golden armor. He looked up to say something and then stopped suddenly, looking at me curiously.

"Oh, I thought you were someone else," he said with a smile, walking over to his small desk. He was middle-aged, perhaps as old as 35 or so, and had strong, handsome features with very expressive eyes. His dark hair was combed straight back and tied into a short ponytail. Like all Imperial Captains were expected to wear, he had on a decorative golden breastplate and shoulder pads over a red shirt and dark black pants.

He took a seat and gestured for me to do the same. "You must be new here. I've never seen you before."

"Yes," I said, sitting down on one of the chairs. "I came over on your supply boat. I'm trying to get to Skyrim."

The man laughed shortly. "Oh, well you're in trouble then. We don't have any ships to Skyrim at all."

I stared at him in shock, my mouth agape. "What?" I managed to stutter.

He flashed an awkward grin at me and shrugged, setting his elbows on his desk. "Right now the only regular ships that come here are from Khuul in Vvardenfell. I assume that's where you came from?"

"Yes."

"The only way to get to Skyrim from here is to go back to Khuul and take a ship from there. Unless you want to swim the whole way, but I don't recommend that. Of course, I'm sure the captain of the supply ship told you they only come here once a week, so it looks like you're stuck."

I slouched in the chair and let my arms hang at my sides. "I don't believe it. I was sure there would be passage to Skyrim from here."

"Sorry to disappoint you. We don't do any trade with Skyrim, and we get all our supplies from Morrowind, of course. Even the Nord tribes north of here don't travel back and forth to Skyrim, the trip is too far for them."

When I remained speechless, the man extended his hand. "My name is Falx Carius, by the way. I'm the Captain here at Fort Frostmoth. You haven't told me your name."

"Sasha," I said.

"You're a Nord, I take it?"

I nodded, and then I realized I would have to think quickly. "I grew up in Cyrodiil though, in a village near the Morrowind border."

Carius leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. "And what in the world are you doing here, in this miserable little place?"

"It's a long story," I said. "I'm sick of Vvardenfell, so I wanted to go to Skyrim. The boat there from Khuul was too long to wait, so I thought I could come here and get passage. Guess I was wrong."

Carius nodded and flashed another smile. "Were you in a hurry to get out of Morrowind? You're not a fugitive from justice, are you?"

"Hardly," I said evenly, looking him right in the eye. "But I have almost nothing to my name. No money, no profession. I had no friends there and thought maybe I would find more sympathy among my own people."

"Sympathy is a hard thing to come by," Carius said. "You probably won't find much here, I'm afraid. My men are a foul-tempered bunch, as you may have noticed."

"I did notice."

"Being sent here is not a promotion," he explained. "It's more like a punishment. There's nothing to do here. No local villages, no entertainment, few supplies, drafty rooms, and no one likes it here at all. Most of the men are in a perpetual bad mood."

"Sounds wonderful," I muttered.

"Well," Carius said, "Since you're stuck here with the rest of us, I suppose I should figure out where you can stay. We have plenty of extra beds in the guards' quarters, since right now we're barely at half our full capacity."

"I have no money to pay for room and board."

Carius waved the comment away. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can find something for you to do to earn your keep." He got up and walked over to a crate in the corner of the office. He lifted the lid and took out a large book and some wrinkled sheets of paper, and then set them on his desk and sat back down.

It took him a few minutes to write up an official document stating that I had permission to stay at the fort. It was hardly an important matter, since he explained that none of the guards would care, and he doubted any auditors from the Legion would check on his records. But some of the men in the Imperial Cult were sticklers for regulations and would likely raise a commotion if I was staying there without the proper paperwork. He entered my name into the book as well, listing my gender, age, and where I had come from. And then he stamped the piece of paper with his personal seal and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said, folding up the paper and sticking it into my bag.

"Just in case one of the Imperial Priests gets nosy, you can show them that and they'll leave you alone. I hear enough complaining from them as it is."

"And where do I stay? Do you have to assign me a bed?"

Carius grinned again and motioned toward the room adjacent his office. "You can spend some time in my bed, if you wish. I could use the company."

"I'm honored," I said sarcastically.

He shrugged and raised his hands innocently. "It was just a suggestion. You're the first pretty face I've seen in weeks," he said with a chuckle, although I could sense by his tone that he was not being entirely facetious. If I had agreed to his proposal, he would have probably taken me to bed right then and there.

"Surely I'm not the only woman here?" I asked. "That would be a bit awkward."

"No, there are a few other women here," Carius said. "A handful of the Imperial Cultists here are women, and one or two of the guards are as well. There's also a woman here who does some of the cooking, but she's an old hag. I think that's about it. But men outnumber women about twelve to one, so you can imagine how that might make some of the guards frustrated."

"Is everyone here really so miserable?" I asked.

Carius sighed and nodded reluctantly. "You'll find most of the soldiers here a very unpleasant bunch. Morale here at the fort is pretty low, for the obvious reasons. I wish there was something I could do about it, but this place is just not very hospitable. Nasty weather, nothing to do, and supplies are always running low. We get stale bread and old fruit, and they haven't seen fit to even send us some good wine in months now."

"That's the first thing your men asked when the ship started unloading, if we had any alcohol on board. There wasn't any."

"Like I said, being stationed at this fort is a punishment. Living here would certainly be easier if we had some good flin to drink. The closest thing we have is the mead the locals drink, but that stuff is just horrible. I don't know how they stand to drink the stuff."

"I thought there weren't any local villages."

"I say local because we share the island with them," Carius clarified. "They aren't close by. There are a couple of sparse Nord villages about twenty miles north of here, deep in the forest on the north side of the island, but they don't like visitors. We've traded with them a few times, but for the most part, they leave us alone and we leave them alone."

"Do you think I could go there?"

"You're welcome to try," Carius said with a hint of caution. "But there's no road through the forest, and the land is very treacherous up here. Lots of wolves and bears, but the cold is the worst enemy you have out there. I don't suggest trying to find those villages without a guide or you'll get lost and wind up freezing to death."

I doubted that Carius' warnings were quite as serious as they sounded. It was more likely he wanted me to stay at the fort in the hopes of getting me into his bed. But he did have a point; I didn't know the terrain and wasn't prepared for a long trek across open land, especially when it was so cold outside. In time I could easily relearn my survival skills and adapt to the cold, but it would take time. I had spent too long in a damp cell, and my body would need to adjust.

"Okay," I said. "Since I'll have to work here to pay for my bed, who should I talk to about that?"

"That depends. Do you have any useful skills?"

"Just staying alive, if you can call that a skill."

Carius laughed and was about to say something more when there was a knock on the door. He pursed his lips for a moment and leaned back in his chair, looking very disappointed.

"Come in," he said, and the door opened to reveal a sly-looking man with slicked back hair and an ornate purple jacket that signified him as a member of the East Empire Company, the trading arm of the Empire. He had beady eyes and a sharp nose, with just a hint of a mustache. He strolled into the room and cast a disapproving glance at me.

"I didn't know you had company, my dear Falx," the man said, his voice smooth and slimy. "If you're busy, I will come back later."

"It's alright. She was just leaving," Carius said in a clipped tone. His voice was altogether different than the way he had spoken to me, and there was no longer a smile on his face. He looked at me and said, "Go to the kitchen at the guards' quarters and look for a man named Liman. He's the head cook, he'll set you up with a job."

"Okay," I said. "Thank you."

I got up and walked past the Company man on my way out, making a point not to look at him. His eyes followed me out of the room, and I could almost feel his gaze on my back as I closed the door behind me.


	3. Chapter 3

3

I went to the guards' quarters and began wandering around aimlessly, looking for the kitchen. The kitchen and supply rooms were usually on the ground floor, while the guards' personal rooms and beds occupied the top two stories. The basement normally held the armory and training areas. I have been in a few forts before, so I had a general idea where things were located.

I followed the smell of food to the kitchen, where several workers in drab gray aprons were stirring pots over little fires, or cutting bread and fruits on long cutting boards. Smoke and the smell of food was thick in the air, and my stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since early in the morning.

One of the cooks, a large man with thick arms and a bristly black beard, was looking at me, so I walked over to him. "I'm looking for someone named Liman," I said.

"I'm Liman. You new here?" The man's voice was deep and gravelly, but he didn't seem threatening.

"Yes, your Captain sent me over here. I don't have enough money to pay for room and board here at the fort, so he said you could find some work for me to do."

Liman wiped his greasy hands on his apron, but it was so dirty already that I didn't think it cleaned his hands off. "I suppose I can," he said. "You must have come off the supply ship, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. When the wagon gets here, start unloading all the food and provisions. I'll send someone out to help you carry them into the kitchen."

"Okay, and after that?"

"You know how to clean fish?"

I nodded. "I've done it a few times."

"Good," Liman said, flashing a quick grin. "Hopefully my men caught some today. They should be back here right before supper. You can help them clean and prepare the fish."

"Okay, sounds like fun," I said.

Liman chuckled at that, and I decided that I liked him. He went back to stirring pots of stew and checking on the rest of the food being made, and I turned and walked back out of the kitchen. Just as I was leaving, Liman called me back.

"Hey, come here a second," he said.

I walked back over to him and he asked, "Do you know if there was anything to drink on that supply ship? Any Cyrodiilic brandy or anything?"

"You're the third person to ask me that," I said. "Sorry, but I don't think there was."

"Damn," he muttered. "We haven't had any in months. The Captain must want us all to be miserable here."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's the one who writes up our supply orders," Liman explained. "I always put in orders for more drinks. You know, flin and brandy. But the final supply order from the Captain never has them on the list. He must want this place to be a dry fort or something."

I couldn't help but show my surprise. Carius had mentioned the lack of alcohol, but he had told me that the supply ships had stopped delivering it. He didn't mention that he never ordered any. "Has anyone asked him about it?" I asked.

Liman shrugged his big shoulders. "I don't know. He's the Captain, it's not like we can do anything about it."

"Yeah," I said. "I guess not. Well, I'm going to check to see if the wagon is back yet."

"Okay, I'll send someone out in a little bit to help you."

I left the kitchen and headed back to the front door. I peeked outside, but the supply wagon had not returned yet. Instead of waiting outside for it, I decided to take a look around the guards' quarters. Since Captain Carius never got around to telling me how to secure a bed for myself, I decided to just look around and find my own.

I went upstairs and checked out the bunk rooms. The first one appeared full, since all the beds had clothing or other personal items laying around. I decided I didn't want a bed in the same room as all the male guards, so that room was out.

As I went back out into the hallway, I heard the sound of a sword suddenly being drawn, and harsh voice behind me.

"Don't move. What do you think you're doing?"

"Looking for a place to stay," I said carefully, slowly turning around to see one of the guards facing me with their sword in their hand. "Your Captain told me there were extra beds here. I was looking for an unoccupied one."

I was surprised to see that the guard was a woman, although with her armor on it was hard to tell. She eyed me up for a moment and must have decided that I was not a threat. Pursing her lips disapprovingly, she sheathed her sword. "I thought you were a thief," she explained, but I had already guessed that.

"I have a note from the Captain, if you want to see it."

"Yes, I'd better." I gave the note to her, and she glanced at it briefly before handing it right back to me. "It has Carius' stamp, I guess that's good enough."

"Where do the female guards bunk at?" I asked. "It would be better if I stayed in the same room with the other women."

"Down this way," the guard said, motioning for me to follow her. We went to the bunk room at the other end of the hallway and she led me inside. Most of the beds were made, but most of them looked as if they hadn't been slept in recently.

"You can take one of these beds," she said. "There's only two guards here that are women, and we both sleep in here."

I tossed my bag onto one of the empty beds. "Alright then. This will be my home for at least a week, until the supply ship comes back. My name is Sasha, by the way."

"My name is Gaea Artoria. Nice to meet you." We didn't shake hands or anything, but Gaea smiled warmly as she led me back out of the room. "I'm still on patrol, but when my shift is over I can show you around the fort, if you want."

"That would be nice," I said. "I'm supposed to help in the kitchen today, so I don't know how late they'll have me work."

"Okay, I'll probably see you tonight then."

"Thanks a lot," I said, and headed back down the stairs to the lobby. As soon as I went outside, I saw the wagon come through the main gate, with all the provisions from the ship stacked on top. I guessed it was time to get to work.


	4. Chapter 4

4

I was so busy during the dinner rush that I barely had any time to grab some dinner myself. After unloading the wagon with the help of a young boy named Tomas, I cleaned two dozen fish and them helped Liman prepare three huge kettles of broth. Guards started shuffling in and for the next two hours I was pretty busy helping serve dinner and then cleaning up afterward. I was so busy that I wondered how they managed to serve dinner when they didn't have an extra person helping them.

"We just work harder," Liman said with a laugh when I asked him about it. "This is actually our easy day because the guards don't all come in at once. When they all come in at the same time, that's when things really get hectic."

"I'm surprised they haven't hired more help," I said.

"We had a couple other people helping us, but they quit about two weeks ago. The Captain said he had sent a request for more workers, but the Legion turned him down."

I helped them clean some dirty dishes and wiped the dinner tables down. The guards, predictably, were very messy eaters. When I was done, Liman handed me a bowl of soup and a plate with some bread and fish.

"Thanks," I said wearily.

"Thank you. You did a great job today."

I sat down at one of the tables and dipped my bread into the soup. Liman sat down beside me, munching on a piece of fruit. The front of his formerly white apron was almost brown now with grease and gunk, and bits of food were caught in his beard.

"You're staying here all week, right?" he asked.

I nodded, chewing on my dinner.

"How about after that?"

I swallowed and said, "I guess I'll go back to Khuul when the supply ship comes. I'll wait there for the ship to Skyrim."

"We could really use your help here, if you decide to stay."

I smiled at that. "I'll have to think about it."

When I was done eating, I helped Tomas mop the floor and put away some of the cooking supplies. After that, I wished them a good evening and headed back to the guards' quarters. Outside, it was dark and bitterly cold, much colder than it had been during the day. Flakes of snow whipped around the walls and stung my face. With the sun down, the temperature dropped so much that I was shivering with cold by the time I had crossed the yard and went inside the guard building. I touched my face, the warmth from my fingers feeling good on my nose.

"Don't you own a coat?" someone asked, and I turned to see one of the guards standing nearby in the main lobby. I didn't know who he was, but I guessed that he recognized me from dinner.

"No," I said. "I didn't expect it to be so cold here."

"Come on then," he said. "I'll get a coat for you."

I followed him down the stairs to the supply rooms and armory. His heavy booted feet clunked loudly on the stone stairs, while my feet made no noise at all. We passed the blacksmith area, where the sounds of banging metal echoed everywhere. The guard led me to a supply room where chests and crates were stacked up along the walls.

"We have lots of extra coats and clothing and stuff here," he said, digging into one of the crates. "You should probably get some heavier pants and boots as well."

Together, he helped me get a fur-lined jacket my size, as well as some thick leather pants and nice Nordic boots, although I needed to wear two pairs of thick socks to make the boots fit properly on my small feet. He also found a belt for me and a fur cap.

"Thanks a lot," I said.

He glanced at me sideways and muttered, "Yeah, no problem. So, do you have a place to stay tonight?"

It seemed the guards' initial rudeness had passed. Now that some of them noticed I was female, they were more than happy to help me. I held the clothing to my chest and nodded. "Yes, one of the woman guards showed me where the female bunks were."

"I'm done with guard duty for the night," he said. "Maybe I could, you know, show you around a little bit."

"Maybe later," I said with a smile, enough to keep him guessing. "I'm really tired though. It's been a long day. I think I'm just going to go to bed. They'll probably want me up early to help serve breakfast."

"Okay," he said, keeping the disappointment out of his voice. "Maybe tomorrow, then."

"Sure thing. Thanks again."

The guard left me in the store room and I bundled up the items so I could carry them all up to my bed. I looked forward to walking outside tomorrow without feeling the numbing cold. Maybe I would take a walk around the fort and get a better idea of my surroundings. I might be stuck on Solstheim for a week, but I was certainly not going to be trapped in the fort the whole time.

I walked out of the room, and although I thought I could find my way out, I must have made a wrong turn because I stumbled into the training area. There was a large straw mat on the floor, some wooden fighting dummies, and some heavy punching bags hanging on chains from the ceiling. And of course, there were several practice swords stacked on a wooden rack.

I looked around curiously, but no one was in the training area. I took another look back into the hallway to make sure no one was coming, and set my new clothes on the floor.

I hadn't held a sword since before my arrest in Cyrodiil. Picking one of them up off the rack brought back some nice memories. It also brought back some not-so-nice memories, but I pushed those out of the way.

The practice sword was chipped and very dull, and felt imbalanced. But its weight was good and I made a few slow passes in the air with it, getting a feel for it. It felt good to hold a weapon in my hand again, even one as battered and useless as this one.

I approached one of the fighting dummies and swung the dull blade a few times, whacking the dummy harmlessly, adding a few dents to its already scarred and gouged visage. I wondered if it might be possible to get a real sword. They probably had an extra sword lying around in the armory that they might be willing to sell me. If the surrounding woods were as dangerous as the Captain Carius had claimed, maybe the sword would come in handy.

"Enjoying yourself?" a voice came from behind me.

I spun around and lowered the sword. It was none other than the Captain himself, Falx Carius, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, an amused smile on his face. He was not wearing his golden breastplate now, just the red shirt and black pants. His black hair hung loose on his head, no longer in a ponytail.

"One of the guards brought me down here to get some warmer clothing," I explained. "On my way out, I wandered in here by accident."

"Sure you did," Carius said with a smile.

"Honest," I said innocently.

Carius glanced down at the battered sword in my hand. "It almost looks like you know how to use that thing."

"I can't use it for much. It's so dull it would barely cut through water."

Carius laughed at that, and then merely smiled, his voice more serious than his expression. "You know how to use a sword?"

"I can defend myself," I answered carefully.

"I'm sure you can," he said. He stepped into the room and walked over to the practice swords, taking one off the rack. He frowned at the blade and then twirled the handle a few times, getting a feel for the battered sword. "Are you ready?" he asked casually, swinging the blade left and right slowly in front of him.

"Sure," I said, turning my body so that he faced my right side. The sword rested comfortably in my right hand, my fingers loosely holding onto the handle.

"All right then," he said.

He was on me in an instant, his sword coming down fast and hard. I blocked it and turned aside, letting his momentum bring him right past me. He swung again, and I deflected the blow as easily as the first. Backpedaling, I countered half a dozen more strikes before Carius backed off and lowered his blade, grinning wolfishly.

"Very nice," he said with a chuckle. "I was holding back, of course."

"So was I," I said, keeping the blade pointed at him. I kept my body turned sideways the entire time, naturally falling into my fighting habits. I held my stance until Carius returned his sword to the rack, and only then did I lower the blade. Holding back or not, I was not about to underestimate him. I half-expected another swift attack, but Carius set the sword down and walked toward the doorway. I returned my sword as well and bent over to pick up my clothes.

Carius came up behind me and placed his hands on my hips as I stood up. "Can I help you with those?" he asked softly, leaning his head over my shoulder to speak right into my ear.

"Thanks," I said, turning around to shove the pile of clothes directly into his hands. He looked at them for a moment and then back up at me.

"But I'm still not going to sleep with you."

"You're sure?" he asked innocently. "You might enjoy it."

"But you might not. I don't think you can handle me."

He laughed out loud as I stepped away, walking out into the hallway. Carius followed me with the clothes in his arms, shaking his head amusedly. "I do hope you agree to stay longer than just a week," he said, still laughing slightly. "Maybe I could convince you to stay here a little while longer."

"I'll think about it."

We walked up the steps to the guards' quarters, and Carius handed me the clothes when we reached the top of the staircase.

"I would invite you to come to my chambers and share a drink, but I'm afraid I don't have anything to drink," he said.

"About that," I said, remembering what Liman had told me, "Liman said that you're the one who hasn't been ordering any alcohol for the fort."

Carius seemed confused for a second. "What do you mean? Of course I order it."

"Liman said that it's not on the final supply orders."

"That doesn't make any sense. I don't change his orders at all, I just copy them and send them to ..." He paused momentarily and looked away. "Oh, that sneaky little bastard," he muttered to himself.

"Who?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Antonius Nuncius. He's an administrator at the Imperial Cult. He handles the supply orders and payments to the shipping company. I give him the final orders, but he must be changing them."

"Why would he do that?"

"He's a bit of a teetotaler. I remember him telling me once how harmful alcohol is. It never occurred to me that he would do something like this to keep the rest of the men from having anything to drink."

"Well," I said, "Now that you know who's responsible, maybe the fort will get some alcohol again. Maybe the morale will improve."

Carius considered this, and then smiled again. The same wolfish smile he had given me back in the training room. "How would you like to do a favor for me?" he asked.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Breakfast was much easier than supper. Liman and the other cook, the female "old hag" that Carius had mentioned, just cooked up a few huge pots of porridge with oats and some chopped up vegetables. Tomas and I cut up most of the vegetables and helped serve bowls of steaming porridge to the guards, and then sat back to wait until they were all done eating so we could clean up.

The old woman was named Grilda and had lived her whole life on the island of Solstheim. She'd been born in a northern village where she lived until her husband had died, and then she came south to work at the fort not long after it had been built. She seemed happy when I told her that I was from Skyrim, and we spent the morning chatting together, sharing old stories and bonding, being the only two natural-born Nords in the fort.

After breakfast, I wandered over to the Imperial Cult office building. It was nice to go outside dressed in warmer clothes. I actually got to enjoy the outdoors for a few minutes. I promised myself I would make time later and talk a walk around the fort and maybe down by the shore.

I went inside the building and nonchalantly walked around the main floor until I found Antonius Nuncius' office. Carius had told me where it was. He had also informed me that Nuncius would be performing his daily prayers at this time of day, so the office would be empty.

I had to hand it to Carius. He was a smooth one, alright. He hadn't even bothered to ask me if I knew how to pick locks. He just casually suggested that I break into Nuncius' office and look for evidence of the doctored supply orders, as if he was just asking me to run a totally innocent errand for him.

To be honest, I was almost offended he would assume something like that about me. That I was capable of such an act, and that I would be willing to do it. It was certainly bold of him to ask me to break the law, but the whole thing seemed so funny that I agreed to do it.

No one was around, so I fished a lockpick from my pocket and casually leaned against the door. I didn't even have to look at my hands. The lock was about as simple as it gets, and within seconds I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me.

Nuncius' office was neat and orderly, as would be expected of a Cult official, but it wasn't very impressive. There was a threadbare rug on the floor, two wooden cabinets, and a small desk that looked like it had been cobbled together from other pieces of furniture. On top of one of the cabinets was a pile of scrolls and other parchments, and an ink bottle and quill were on the desk.

I opened the drawers on the cabinet and quickly rifled through the contents, mostly sheets of paper and folders with shipping invoices and other business documents. They all looked the same to me. I wondered how I was going to find evidence of Nuncius' activities, when I couldn't even tell the difference between all the different forms and documents in the office. What I needed was an old shipping order with alcohol clearly on the list, but I didn't have time to read through every single one of them to find it. I didn't even know how long Nuncius would be gone. He might be back any moment.

I went to the other cabinet and opened the drawers. The bottom drawer, however, was locked, so I took a few seconds to get it open.

Two fat bottles of shein and a narrow bottle of flin greeted me, tucked down in between two stacks of paper and a tattered shipping log. I smiled at my good luck, and snatched the bottle of flin. I wasn't entirely sure what documents would incriminate Nuncius, but the ones in the locked drawer seemed like good candidates. I grabbed a stack of papers and folded them up, sticking them into my coat. I left the drawer open.

Then, just as I went to leave, I grabbed one of the bottles of shein as well, just for good measure. I poked my head out the door to make sure no one was coming, and then made a casual, hasty exit from the Imperial offices.

In a few minutes I was back at Carius' office. I nodded at the two guards in the hallway, but they ignored me, just as they had done the day before. If they knew the contents of the bottles I carried, maybe they would be more sociable.

I knocked on the door, hearing voices inside. Carius called for me to enter, and I went inside to see him at his desk, facing the man from the East Empire Company, who sat across from him. He sat upright in his chair, legs crossed, hands in his lap, his lip twisted in a sneer. He eyed me up as I came inside.

Carius flashed a very brief smile. "Sasha, good to see you."

The East Empire man stood up, brushed imaginary dust off his pant legs, and extended a hand. "My dear, I don't think we've been properly introduced."

"Yes, and the pleasure was all mine," I said, keeping my free hand at my side.

"This is Carnius Magius," Carius said. "He's the local supervisor for the East Empire Company. They're setting up a mining operation here on Solstheim."

"Mining ebony," Magius clarified. He brushed a finger across his slight mustache and cleared his throat. "Very lucrative, the ebony trade is. If you're looking for work, I'm sure I can find a place for you."

"Thanks, but I work in the kitchen," I said stiffly.

He chuckled at that and pursed his lips. Running a hand across his greasy hair, he looked back at Carius. "Well then, Falx. If you have other business, I'll leave you to it. We can continue this conversation later. This evening, perhaps."

"Of course," Carius said.

Magius walked past me and left the office. I shivered as the door closed and took a seat in one of the other chairs, not the one that Magius had sat in.

"You'll have to forgive him," Carius said with a shrug. "Being an arrogant, unlikeable little worm is pretty much a prerequisite for employment at the East Empire Company."

"That guy would give a pimp a run for his money in the scumbag department."

"That's Carnius for you," Carius chuckled.

I dug the sheets of paper from my jacket and dumped them onto Carius' desk. He laughed and immediately began reading through them. Before he got far, I placed the bottle of shein on his desk as well, and he looked at it suspiciously.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Yep. So is this," I said, taking the smaller bottle of flin from my pocket.

"Oh, you are a wonder," Carius said. "Care for a drink?"

"I would love one," I said with a smile.

Carius took a pair of wooden cups from the crate behind his desk and poured flin for both of us. I preferred flin to the cheaper beers like shein and greef. Just one swallow was enough to give me a shot of warmth and boost of energy, as well as a comfortable burn down my throat. I gasped and downed the rest of the cup.

"Good job, Sasha," Carius said, pointing at the sheets of paper. "These are the original supply orders. I guess that Antonius held onto them because paper is so hard to come by. He probably meant to erase everything and reuse the sheets."

"I wondered why he would keep them. Better to destroy the evidence."

"You didn't have any problems, did you?"

"No, none at all."

He smiled wolfishly at that. "I knew I could count on you. In fact, I was so certain of your success that I had the boys down in the armory bring me up a present for you."

"A present?"

Carius walked into the adjacent room momentarily and came out a few seconds later carrying a shining new short sword with a gleaming gold hilt and a green gemstone embedded in the pommel. He held it out hilt first so I could take the grip.

"Wow," I said, completely speechless. He had told me that he would get a sword, but he hadn't said it would be one like this. I had been expecting a plain blade with an iron hilt.

"I can't take this," I said. "Everyone will think I stole it or something. This is way too fancy for me."

"It will be fine," Carius assured me. "It's not as expensive as it looks. The hilt is just gold-plated, and the gem there is only colored glass. It's actually a replica of a real ornamental sword. But it's perfectly functional."

It looked real enough for me, and I felt awkward just holding onto such a beautiful weapon. Carius handed me a sword belt with a plain scabbard, and I buckled it around my waist. The sword slid cleanly into the scabbard, the hilt clicking firmly against the locket, the top of the scabbard. It felt nice to have a real sword hanging at my hip once more.

"Thank you," I said. "I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll spend the night," Carius suggested.

I laughed. "Are you really that lonely, Falx? I would think you should have no problems finding a woman to warm your bed. You're a good looking man, and the Captain of this fort besides. There must be more women available. I'm sure one of the female guards would be happy to sleep with you."

"You haven't been around them long enough," Carius said. "Sadly, they are of the opinion that it is improper for a female soldier to have an affair with a superior officer. And the Cult women are no different."

"How terrible for you," I said, trying to sound sympathetic through my smile.

"Remember when I said that being stationed here is like a punishment? Well, it's a punishment in more ways than one."

"So what did you do to get sent here?" I asked, crossing my arms. "What are you being punished for?"

His response was interrupted when someone began banging on the door to his office. A plaintive, worried voice came from the hallway.

"Captain Carius! I must speak with you! Something terrible has happened!"

"Come in," Carius said.

The door burst open and a man waddled into the room, wearing a plain brown tunic and cloak of the Imperial Cult. It was tied at his waist with a thick purple rope, and his feet were in a pair of dirty sandals, hardly appropriate for the cold weather. He had a pudgy face and a receding hairline.

"It's terrible, Captain," he said. "Someone broke into my office! I just returned from my daily prayers and someone had ..."

His voice trailed off when he looked on the desk and saw the scattered papers. His eyes seemed to snap back and forth from the documents to the bottle of shein on the desk, growing wider as they did so.

"I ... Captain ... what ..."

"Antonius," Carius said smoothly. "Would you like to explain to me why you were changing the supply orders without my permission?"

"I wasn't ..."

"Yes, you were. Here is the evidence."

Nuncius swallowed nervously and then took a deep breath before standing up straight, regaining what was left of his composure. He cleared his throat and said, "You ... you broke into my office and stole my personal property. This is a very serious matter, Captain. Your authority does not extend to the Cult, and you have no right to invade my privacy like this. I'm afraid I will have to lodge a formal complaint with the Imperial Legion."

Carius nodded, completely at ease. "I understand. Of course you will. And I will have no choice but to reveal to the entire fort that you are solely responsible for the lack of alcohol in the past few months."

"You ... what?"

Carius crossed his arms, and even though he and Nuncius were almost the same height, he seemed to look down on the Cult clerk as if the man was far shorter than him. "How long are you still stationed here, Antonius? If memory serves, you still have at least a year left. Isn't that right?"

"Yes," Nuncius said, beginning to sweat.

"If you file your complaint against me, I will certainly be punished. But once the Legion gets word that you countermanded my own orders, they will find a way to stick you here for as long as possible. Say, five more years added on? How would you like to stay on Solstheim for five more years?" Carius emphasized the "five more years" very bluntly, punctuating each word with a short pause.

"How do you think the soldiers here will treat you if they find out about this?" Carius added. "You know that Legion troops have a low regard for Cult officers to begin with. The only reason they haven't rebelled against me is because I'm their Captain. But you're just a clerk. What kind of treatment do you think you'll receive at their hands?"

Nuncius was frozen in place, and once again I had to hand it to Carius. I had dealt with quite a few Imperial officers in my life, even a few Captains, and for the most part they were a bunch of stiff, unimaginative, humorless grunts. Carius, on the other hand, was as slick as a snake oil salesman. With just a few well placed threats, none of them even very serious, he had managed to completely defuse the situation. It was like watching a magician at work.

"Maybe ... there was a misunderstanding," Nuncius offered, clasping his hands together as if in prayer. "I thought ... I thought that you had given me permission to alter those supply orders. Maybe I was mistaken."

"I'll accept that," Carius said with a careful nod. "In the future, you'll make sure to send in the orders exactly as they were given to you, correct?"

"Of course."

"And we can forget about this little misunderstanding?"

Nuncius nodded fervently, his cheeks quivering. "Yes, I suppose we can. I'm glad we were able to ... work this out together. It would have been a shame to bring our superiors into this, after all."

"I agree completely," Carius said.

Nuncius fidgeted and gestured to the desk. "May I have those documents back?"

"Of course," Carius said, and handed the stack of papers to Nuncius. "I think I'll hold onto these bottles though."

"Yes, perhaps you'd better."

"You're dismissed, Antonius."

"Thank you."

Grasping the supply orders to his chest, Nuncius left the office. When the door closed after him, I finally laughed to myself, having held it in the entire time. I made sure not to laugh too loud, or else Nuncius still might hear me.

"Impressed?" Carius asked with a smirk.

"Yes," I admitted. "That was just brilliant."

I had to admit to myself that I was developing a crush on him. He was handsome, charming, funny, and respectable. Maybe a bit too arrogant, and far too presumptuous. And I could tell there was a secretive side to him as well, probably due to his military habit of keeping a professional distance between himself and his troops. But he was making all the right moves, and what was worse, he knew it.

He had other work to get done, so I said goodbye and left the office, holding my new sword close against my leg. I wanted to go down to the training area and get some practice with it, and then I wanted to take a walk around the fort.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Although I still expected there to be villages near Fort Frostmoth, it seemed that the wooded area around the fort was still completely uninhabited. There was nothing but fir trees and snowy hills for several miles north of the fort. The shore south and east of the fort was rocky and not very hospitable. I guessed that lack of a safe harbor on this corner of the island was the reason that no villages had sprung up here. The wind coming from the south was bitterly cold and dry, although it should have been warmer coming over the water.

I walked down to the docks, where I had first set foot on the island, and looked out across the Sea of Ghosts. If I squinted, I almost felt like I could see Vvardenfell from here, but I knew that Solstheim was too far away to see other land masses. If I walked to the western side of the island, I probably would have imagined seeing Skyrim. If I remembered my geography, the city of Winter Hold was almost directly west of the island.

I took a long, casual walk back up the road to the fort, but instead walked around the outer perimeter. Most of the trees had been cut down for maybe a hundred feet outside the walls, to give the guards a better view. I wondered if it was really necessary. Did they expect any Nord tribes to attack the fort?

I spotted a wolf walking around farther up the hill. Carius had mentioned that the wilderness was full of wolves and bears, and I believed him. If I wanted to ever make the trek north to visit the local villages, I would have to account for that.

Eventually, I got tired and cold and went back to the fort to get some lunch. Liman had very kindly let me take the lunch shift off today, as long as I helped during the dinner rush. I snuck into the kitchen and got a bowl of soup and some bread. I decided to help out anyway, and Tomas and I cleaned the kitchen after lunch. After we were done, I headed back downstairs to the armory and training area.

Once more I was alone. It was warmer down in the armory and I anticipated working up a sweat, so I pulled off my heavier jacket and leather pants. Underneath I wore the thin tunic and pants I had worn to the island. I kicked off the boots as well, and stood on the straw practice mat in my bare feet.

I was out of practice with a sword after my long incarceration in Cyrodiil. I had spent three very unhappy years cramped in a dirty cell there, before being mysteriously released and dropped off in Seyda Neen. No one had ever told me why I had been set free, and I didn't bother to ask. But now that I was free once more, my old habits started showing up once more. Pretty soon I would have to find some knives to slide into my boots, like I had in the old days, and then find time to practice my knife-throwing.

I stood sideways and took a few deep breaths before swinging at the wooden practice dummy. My brand new sword cut cleanly into the wooden body, and I yanked the blade out before returning to my combat posture and executing the move once more. It would take long hours of practice to get back into proper fighting shape, but I really didn't have much else to occupy my time here.

Swing after swing, thrust after thrust, my muscles gradually got used to the long-forgotten movements. The sword felt lighter in my hand, the sword strikes felt more natural and more graceful, and the practice dummy sported a new range of cut marks. I knew my arm would be sore in the morning, but that would pass. In another few days my muscles would be used to the movements and the soreness would be gone, replaced by stronger muscles.

Pretty soon I was covered in a sheen of sweat, and my breath came in hard gasps. I would have to replace the grip on the sword, because it was not properly wrapped and was now coming loose. The dummy looked as if someone had tried to cut it in half with an axe. I admired my handiwork for a few moments, my breath slowly returning to normal, the sweat on my face evaporating. My wool tunic felt sticky and uncomfortable, and I wondered if there was any way I could get a bath here at the fort.

"Hey," came a voice.

I turned to see Gaea Artoria, the female guard I met the day before, standing in the hallway with her arms crossed. She was not wearing her guard uniform, and was instead wearing a green tunic and leather breeches. Her hair, a surprising bright red, was tied behind her head into a ponytail.

"Hi there," I said, still a little short of breath.

"I heard someone fighting down here. I'm surprised it was you, I expected it to be one of the other guards."

I shrugged and showed her my sword. "Just trying out my new toy."

"Where'd you get that?"

"The Captain gave it to me. I did a favor for him."

"A favor, huh?"

I laughed. "Not that kind of favor."

"Sure," Gaea said with a smirk. "I'm sure the fox is all over you, isn't he? A pretty young thing like yourself, he probably started drooling as soon as he saw you."

"The fox?"

"Falx," Gaea said. "It's our nickname for him."

I laughed again, thinking about the wolfish smile that Carius always gave me. A nickname like the Fox certainly suited him. "Yeah, he's made a few passes at me."

"I bet he has. I swear, it took him six months before he finally got the hint from me. Every time he saw me, he kept asking me to come up to his office and have a drink, or come and spend the night, or some other nonsense."

"I guess you turned him down, then?"

"Of course," Gaea scoffed. "I want off this stupid island. If I slept with him, he might start to like me and try to keep me here. Besides," she added, "he's not really my type."

"He seems like a nice guy otherwise, though," I said. "I mean, I've met a lot worse."

"Yeah, I suppose," Gaea said. "He's not very demanding as a Captain. Of course, there isn't much for him to be demanding about. There isn't much for us to do here on this stupid island. It's funny that they send all their troublemakers here, and yet its probably the easiest assignment I've ever had."

"Falx mentioned that this place is a punishment. I guess he was right about that?"

"Oh yeah," Gaea said with a sigh. "We were sent here because we annoyed our Captain, or we broke some local law, or caused some other trouble. They send all the washouts here to try to get rid of them. If we stay here without causing any problems, we get reassigned."

"What about Falx?" I asked. "What did he do to get sent here?"

"Take a wild guess. He slept with another Captain's wife."

"Ooh," I said. "I guess that doesn't surprise me."

My workout finished, I slid my sword back into the scabbard and sat down in a chair to put my boots back on. I decided not to bother putting the leather pants and jacket on, since I wasn't heading outside again, and I was still pretty warm. I gathered up the clothes in my arms and headed to the stairs to drop them off on my bed.

"I never got around to asking you what brought you here," Gaea said as we walked up the stairs. "You said you came over on the supply ship, right?"

"Yeah, I was trying to get to Skyrim. Guess I picked the wrong boat."

"What were you doing in Vvardenfell?"

I shrugged. "Just traveling, I guess. I actually grew up in Cyrodiil, and moved to Morrowind and then Vvardenfell."

"Did you work as a bodyguard or something? You seem to know how to handle yourself with a sword. Just by watching you, I can tell you've had more training than some of the soldiers in the Legion."

"Not really," I said, and it was technically true, since I had never actually worked as a bodyguard. "My father was a trainer in the Fighter's Guild, and he taught me pretty much everything I know. I've picked up some other training here and there. It's a useful skill to have when you're a woman traveling alone."

"I'll agree with you there," Gaea said. I could tell she didn't quite believe me, but I let her make her own assumptions. Like Carius, she undoubtedly assumed I was a wandering thief or fugitive, perhaps a mercenary, given my knowledge of a sword. And I guessed they would be partially right. Some people might have called me a mercenary, some might have chosen stronger words.

We made it back to the bunks and I dumped my jacket and leather pants there. I also took off the sword and belt and put them on my bed as well. I felt safe that no one would take them.

"What are you doing this evening?" Gaea asked.

"I have to help out with dinner in a little bit. After that I don't have anything planned."

"Okay then," she said with a smile. "I have a meeting about next week's schedule right after dinner, so I'll see you later."

"Sure thing."

I went back downstairs to the kitchen, where Liman was already waiting for me. We still had about an hour until dinner started, but there was a lot of work to do before then.


	7. Chapter 7

7

It was surprising how easily my life fell into a routine. After spending three years in a dark prison cell in Cyrodiil, I had learned to hate routine. I wanted to explore, to experiment, to do something new every day. I wanted to see new things and gain new experiences, perhaps to make up for the three years of my life that I had spent imprisoned. I hated the thought of living my life by a predictable schedule, and to have that schedule even partially dictated by the Imperial Legion made it even worse. When I thought about it, I realized that I had spent almost my entire adult life under the watchful eye of the Legion.

But somehow, I began to enjoy my time at Fort Frostmoth. I needed time to train and learn how to use a sword again, and an Imperial Fort was as good a place as any. And I had my freedom, even though there wasn't much opportunity to use it.

Each morning, I helped with breakfast and spent the rest of the morning exploring the nearby woods and shoreline. After lunch, I spent some time in the library studying or reading, or spending time with Gaea. She showed me around the entire fort and introduced me to most of the other guards. I was always busiest around dinner time, helping Liman with the preparation and the cleanup afterward.

Right after dinner I usually did my weapon training and exercises. I worked with my sword until I felt more proficient and confident, but I knew that slashing at an immobile target was hardly the best way to develop my skills. And when I was sure no one was around, I found some knives and practiced throwing them at the practice dummies. It was difficult, since the knives were not properly balanced for throwing, but after a couple days of practice, my skill started to come back naturally. Pretty soon I could whip the knives with reliable accuracy, although my arm strength and aim still some work. It would take months of practice before I was as good as I used to be.

After training, I would get cleaned up, and then in the evenings I spent time talking with Carius, or hanging out with Gaea and the other guards, playing cards and telling stories.

I also became the Command Office's unofficial messenger, taking notes and delivering information to almost everyone at the fort. I learned almost everyone's name that way, and the administrators and priests at the Imperial Cult got used to my presence there, going back and forth while I ran my errands.

"You know," I told Carius one afternoon while I sat in his office, "I think I should be getting paid for some of this work I'm doing."

Carius leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "I thought you were working to pay for room and board?"

"I'm working in the kitchen for that," I said. "I should be getting paid for all these errands I'm running for you."

"I suppose I can work something out," he said. "I'll talk with the treasury officer. Money is pretty tight, but I think I can swing a few septims a day or something."

"I'd appreciate it. I'd like to leave here with more money than I came with. I'll need it to afford passage to Skyrim."

"Are you still planning to leave in a few days when the supply ship comes back?"

"Pretty much," I said. "I don't see much reason to stick around, do you?"

"Oh, you know I do," he chuckled. "Maybe I can persuade you to stay for a little while. I'm sure I can come up with a good reason."

"Go ahead and try," I said with a smile.

I didn't exactly have any plans, just a general desire to return to my homeland in Skyrim. Although it was possible that I might not be very welcome there, I doubted that anyone would hold a grudge against me. And even if that was the case, it was still preferable to staying at Fort Frostmoth. As much as I enjoyed spending time with Carius and Gaea, I knew that I would tire of the place within a few weeks. There was simply not enough for me to do.

"Maybe I'll stay a couple of weeks," I admitted.

"That would be wonderful," Carius said, grinning broadly.

After all, I would need at least that long to get into proper fighting shape, and the training area was the perfect place to do it. And training with Imperial soldiers would be excellent experience if I ever needed to fight them again. And that depended on my reception back in Skyrim.

Carius sighed. "Carnius Magius will be here shortly. I have another meeting with him this afternoon. I know you don't like him, so if you want to get going before he gets here, that's okay."

"What are your meetings about?" I asked. "He works for the East Empire Company, right? They aren't really part of the Legion."

"I know, but Solstheim is an Imperial colony, and I'm the official Imperial representative here. They want to start up a mining operation here, so I'm the person they have to do all the negotiations with."

"Negotiations about what?"

"Oh, you know," Carius said, waving his hand. "About the mining rights, Imperial taxes, who shares in the profits. They'll need Legion help defending the operation, so that means assigning Imperial soldiers to a private enterprise, which means more paperwork and more fees and laws they have to follow."

"Defending it from what?" I asked. "Wolves and bears?"

"From the Nords, actually," Carius explained. "Now don't get offended. I know that you're a Nord."

"I'm not offended," I said. And it was true; I was actually rather pleased to think that the Legion had problems with the local Nords.

"Most of the Nords on Solstheim live in villages north of here, and for the most part, they leave us alone and we leave them alone. But there are a few loose tribes of berserkers, and we've heard rumors about a some kind of Nord cult."

"A cult?"

Carius shrugged. "I don't know, they're just rumors. A tribe of berserkers who worship werewolves. They try to get infect themselves with lycanthropy, but if they can't manage that, they dress up in wolf skins and act like animals."

"That's insane," I said.

"I know, but the East Empire Company is taking the threats seriously. They want Imperial guards at the mining site to defend it in case the berserkers cause trouble."

"Sounds like a lot of fun," I said sarcastically. "Where is this mine, anyway?"

"It's northwest of here, about five miles inland. A place called Raven Rock."

A knock on the door interrupted our conversation, as it usually did. The door opened and Carnius Magius came into the room, looking as weaselly as ever.

"I guess that means it's time for me to go," I said, standing up.

"Feel free to stay," Magius said with a grin, briefly touching my arm. "I'm sure you'll find our discussion fascinating, my dear Sasha."

"I'm not your dear," I said.

Magius laughed heartily, but not very sincerely. "Oh, I do love your little jokes. You have such a lovely sense of humor."

"See you later, Falx," I said on my way out the door.

The guards outside, having gotten used to my presence by now, nodding in greeting as I passed them. They were probably jealous about me spending so much time with their Captain and not with them. I left the command office building and walked out into the fort, clenching my fists at the blast of bitterly cold air that swept down across the open courtyard. My breath billowed away from my mouth in a white cloud.

I still had some time before supper, so I decided to take a walk beyond the fort. I headed out the northern gate and crossed my arms, bracing myself against the cold. Specks of snow drifted past me, blown from the branches of nearby trees. The cold felt good, reminding me of my roots. It had taken me a little while to get accustomed to the cold here on Solstheim, but I felt comfortable with it now.

My feet crunched on the icy ground as I walked along the tree edge, about a hundred feet from the walls of the fort. I caught a glimpse of movement in between the trees and tensed up, expecting a wolf or a bear. I put my hand down to my sword and curled my fingers around the hilt, waiting for more movement.

From around the side of a thick fir tree, a man appeared, wearing dark brown leather armor and large fur boots. He had a handsome face, long blonde hair that fluttered in a ponytail behind his head, and a longsword strapped across his back. He casually walked out into the open and looked over at me, an indifferent look on his face.

"Greetings," he said in a deep voice.

"Hello," I said, letting go of my sword. "Who are you?"

"My name is Reinhardt Red-Spear. You must be Sasha."

"How in the world do you know my name?" I asked, stunned.

"One of the guards mentioned you," he said with a shrug. "I came by the armory yesterday to get some repairs done and they told me about you."

"What did they tell you?"

"That you were a young, pretty Nord girl." He smiled briefly and glanced down at the sword at my hip, and my natural defensive posture. "Hmm, I wonder if maybe they underestimate you. I expected you to be some helpless city-born girl. I can see that's not the case, however."

"No, it isn't. I grew up in Skyrim."

"What is your surname?" he asked.

"Frost-Wind," I lied.

Reinhardt smiled, as if he caught the lie. I had the uncanny feeling that he knew who I was, but that was impossible. Of course, maybe he was from Skyrim as well. As unlikely as it seemed, the possibility existed that some of the Nords on the island might have heard of me, or at the very least, had heard of my father. I would have to be watchful of that in the future.

"Sasha Frost-Wind," he said. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

He extended his hand and I took it somewhat hesitantly. "Likewise," I said. "You told me your name, but who are you?"

"Just a traveler," he said, smiling briefly again. "I live up in the hills. I do some trading with the villages to the north and here at the fort. I also work as a guide to fellow travelers here on Solstheim. I do some work at Raven Rock as well."

"That's the mining operation, right?"

"Yes. They've found a rather large amount of ebony rock deep in the hills. Very valuable, or so I'm told. I'm afraid I don't have much use for ebony."

"You know the island pretty well, then?"

"Oh, yes. You might say I'm an expert."

"I heard a rumor today about a cult of Nords who worship werewolves. That sounds pretty crazy to me. Maybe you can tell me a little bit about it."

Reinhardt reached up to scratch idly at his cheek, looking toward the fort. "Well," he said, "It's a very strange thing. I haven't seen them myself, but it seems there is a group of men who dress up as wolves. Maybe they are Nords and maybe they aren't, I really can't say." He pursed his lips thoughtfully and glanced sideways at me, raising his eyebrows curiously.

I would have to keep an eye on this one. Reinhardt Red-Spear knew more than he was letting on, and he was being far too obvious about it. He might as well have winked at me. If he was trying to be discreet, he was doing a terrible job at it.

"I have to get going," I said. "I'm working in the kitchen at the fort."

"Well, I hope I'll see you around, then," Reinhardt said.

"Yeah, maybe we can talk about that cult some more."

"I'd love to. I'm a bit of a historian, actually. I know lots of things about Solstheim and Nord history that I would love to discuss."

"I bet you do."

"Have a good day, Sasha," he said, giving me a slight bow.

As I headed back toward the fort, Reinhardt called back to me. I turned to see him standing among the trees, his blonde ponytail shipping past his face.

"Try not to get any snowon your crown," he called out.

With that, he walked off into the forest, and within a few moments was already out of sight, hidden among the trees. I stood in place for a little while, letting the cold air blow past me, although I barely felt it. I stared at the trees and slowly shook my head, and then regretted it, because it occurred to me that Reinhardt was probably watching me at that moment to see my reaction. Of course, he may have been so certain that he didn't even bother.

Try not to get any snow on your crown, indeed. It was a cute little phrase, and would have gone over the head of anyone who might have heard us talking. But Reinhardt knew I would recognize what he was really saying to me.

Snow-Crown was my actual last name. Reinhardt knew who I was after all.

"Damn," I whispered.


	8. Chapter 8

8

A few days later, the supply ship returned to Solstheim and I was sent down with the wagon to load up the new supplies. Tomas, the young boy who worked in the kitchens with me, came along and helped. He stood up in the wagon and I handed him boxes and the smaller packages, while the guards on duty by the dock helped load the barrels, of which there were several.

"By the Gods!" one of the guards exclaimed. "We've hit the jackpot!"

Included in this week's load of new supplies were four barrels of mazte beer, four wooden cases of flin, and a collection of other alcoholic beverages, including shein and a case of Cyrodiilic brandy. Almost half of the load of supplies were alcohol. The guards at the dock were laughing and slapping each other on the shoulders by the time Tomas and I arrived to load everything up.

"Careful boys," I said with a smile. "You can't start drinking yet!"

"Can't I have just a sip?" one of them laughed.

"I don't even remember what it tastes like," another joked.

I walked over to the edge of the dock as one of the other guards signed the manifest and handed it back to the ship's captain. He tucked it into his shirt pocket and smiled widely at me.

"Well, hello there, lass," he said. "Have you come by to ask for a trip back to civilization?"

I smiled but shook my head. "No, just saying hello. I've decided to stay here for a few weeks. They have me working at the fort. I figure I might as well make some money while I'm here."

"Well," the captain said, obviously surprised that I was staying, "if you can handle this place, you're a stronger person than me."

"Don't worry," I said. "In a few weeks I'll be desperate to get out of here. I'll be asking for a ride home soon enough."

The captain wished me well and boarded his boat, and soon he was off again, leaving us to finish loading the wagon. The guards chattered excitedly about the prospect of drinking tonight, and Tomas just shrugged at me with a grin. We loaded everything up and headed back to the fort with our special cargo.

Liman was stunned when he saw what had been delivered. He gaped at the barrels and wine crates, his eyes wide and mouth agape, as if he was staring at a treasure of gold and jewels and not just some alcohol. It occurred to me that in a place like this, working men considered good drink a treasure in and of itself. And having spent some time in prison, I understood how they felt.

"Here, come and get this inside," he said. "I don't want the entire fort coming down on me. The men are going to riot when they see this."

We rolled the barrels off the cart and Liman hurried them into the building, where they were carted down into the kitchen. A few off-duty guards, who normally would never have bothered to help the kitchen staff, were suddenly more than happy to carry things for us, and Liman had to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't take a detour and sneak some of the flin away for themselves. We quickly unpacked the rest of the supplies as word of the new shipment of drinks began to filter through the fort.

"Is it true?" guards kept pestering us. "Do we finally have something good to drink?"

I helped out with the preparation for dinner while Liman got the barrels ready. He hammered out the corks and screwed in metal faucets so the mazte could be easily poured out, and then tipped the barrels onto their sides before hoisting them up onto a long table. Grilda and I prepared bowls of broth and chopped up loaves of bread as the first guards began filtering in for supper.

Within minutes, the entire cafeteria was packed. By now, word of the shipment had spread across the entire fort, and everyone came down to have dinner at the same time. Liman was well prepared for them, and had dozens of mugs ready to be filled, and somehow managed to keep the guards from mobbing him. I didn't see much of that, since I was so busy serving bowls and helping in the back of the kitchen, but I kept hearing Liman bellowing for the men to wait their turn.

It was the first time I really saw the guards in a good mood the entire week I had been here. During supper, they talked and joked with each other, but the overall feeling had been rather bored and subdued. But not today. The men were loud and happy and rowdy, swinging their mugs and shouting at each other, laughing and drinking their fill.

Near the end of the supper rush, I heard some cheering and managed to sneak out of the kitchen to see what was going on.

"Hail Captain Carius!" the men boomed.

I looked across the room to see Carius standing in the doorway, waving at the men and gesturing for them to quiet down. Surprisingly, most of them actually did, and Carius raised his voice so he could be heard over the ones still making noise. He looked calm and collected, wearing his golden armor, his black hair slicked back.

"Gentlemen, soldiers, friends!" he said loudly. "I hope you're all having a good time tonight!"

The men roared their approval, swinging their mugs, sloshing their precious drinks all over the table tops. Carius chuckled as one of the men handed him a mug of his own. He took a sip and the men cheered loudly. I couldn't help but smile to myself.

It was only then that I realized just how much the men here really admired Carius. The weeks without flin or brandy had damaged their morale, surely, but it was only through their high respect for their Captain that they kept from complaining to him about it. I think that if they had not respected him, they might have mutinied by now. With the alcohol restored, their admiration for Carius was restored as well.

"I want you all to know something," he said to the crowd. "I know we haven't had anything to drink for some months now. I'm afraid that was a mistake made by the shipping clerks in Khuul. But I'm happy to announce that from now on, our shipments will be complete, as we won't have any dry spells like that again."

The entire room exploded in raucous applause and cheering as Carius raised his mug and cried out, "Cheers!" At least I think he said it, because the room was so loud that I couldn't actually hear him. The soldiers and guards all slammed back their drinks and immediately began pestering Liman for more.

I ran back into the kitchen as Grilda began calling my name. We rushed to clean out some of the used bowls and refill them, and then I carried them back out into the eating area. By the time I glanced back up to the doorway where Carius had been, he was already gone.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Cleaning up after dinner took forever. By the time the last of the guards had finally were shooed away, we had a serious mess on our hands. The floor was covered in spilled mazte and the food bowls and mugs were everywhere. I wiped off all the tables while Tomas pushed around a mop and bucket to clean the floor, while Liman moved the barrels back into the kitchen and locked them in a large closet. An hour later, we were still cleaning up, but Liman said I didn't have to stay.

I got some food myself and sat down to eat. Liman offered me a mug of mazte as well but I politely turned it down.

"Really?" he asked. "You don't want any?"

"I don't like mazte very much," I said, munching on bread.

Liman shrugged. "Okay, more for me then," he said, and took a gulp from the mug.

When I was finished, I said goodnight to everyone and walked upstairs. I passed a few men in the hallway who were still pleasantly buzzed from the night's drinking. None of them were fully drunk, since Liman had been very careful to limit the amount of mazte a single man could have, but they were all very sloppy and lightheaded. They staggered a bit and talked too loud, and one of them even made a grab for my backside. If he had been sober, I'd have clobbered him, but I let it pass without too much fuss. The men laughed and praised Captain Carius for his generosity, and overall everyone was warm and happy.

I headed to my bunk room and changed clothes. I'd acquired some more new clothes since I'd arrived at the fort, and took the opportunity to change out my dirty outfit, which was spotted and stained with food from the kitchen, and smelled like stale beer. I switched into a loose fitting wool sweater and clean leather pants and felt much better.

I half-expected to find Gaea around, since she tended to spend her time off-duty in the bunk room, but she wasn't there. I had seen her briefly in the cafeteria, so maybe she had a few drinks herself and had snuck into a back room with a lucky guy.

Outside, snow was falling. There was no hint of a breeze, and the air was silent and cold, my breath frosting in front of my face. I wrapped my arms around myself, the wool sweater keeping me warm enough for now. I looked around the courtyard and spied a few guards standing around, and a few more patrolling the walls. I walked up a stairway to the upper ledge along the wall and stepped over to the top of the wall itself, looking out beyond the perimeter of the fort.

It was dark outside, the moon obscured by clouds, so there was not much for me to see except for the blurred shadows of trees and the shapeless gray nothingness behind them. Nothing moved, but I suspected that a legion of barbarians could have been assembled there and I would not have seen them. The light from the torches along the walls did not penetrate far.

Maybe in a few days, I would take some time to explore more of the island. For the moment, I was perfectly content to stay at the fort, but my immediate surroundings here were beginning to bore me. I had been away from the wonders of nature for too long. I wanted to walk deeper into the woods and spend some time reacquainting myself with the wilderness. Maybe I would bump into Reinhardt Red-Spear again and have another talk with him.

I shivered, the bitter cold finally getting the best of me. I shook snowflakes from my hair and descended the stairs, my arms crossed tightly across my chest. A few guards exited the main building and one of them called out to me.

"Hey there, honey. It's pretty cold outside, you know. Maybe you need a big, strong man to keep you warm tonight?"

"No thanks," I said sweetly.

"Come on, Garrett," one of the other soldiers said. "If she wanted a strong man, she wouldn't need your help with that anyway."

The group broke up laughing and they moved in my direction. There were five of them, all slightly tipsy. I smirked at the comment but did not walk away. I took a breath, watching it mist away, and carefully eyed them up, wondering what they were up to. Tonight's festivities had apparently bolstered their confidence as well. So far, I had managed to dissuade any of the guards from putting the moves on me, but now with some alcohol in them, they apparently decided the risk was worth the reward.

"You lonely, little girl?" the first one said. "I'll keep you company."

"Sorry, but I think I'm fine all by myself."

"No need to be antisocial, sweetheart. And you don't have to play games with me. You've been hanging around the fort for awhile now, so there must be something here that you want, right?"

One of the others chuckled at that. "You looking to spend some time with the Imperial Legion, honey? We got all you need, right here."

I held my position and tilted my head to the side as they closed around me. "The only thing I'm looking for is a place to sleep and a way to pay for my trip to Skyrim," I said.

"I know a way for you to make some extra money," one of the guards said, eliciting more laughs from the others.

The first guard, the one who had originally called to me, quieted the others and leered at me with a crooked grin. "Come on now, fellas. You know she's already got herself a man, right? She's the Captain's girl. Aren't you, sweetheart?"

"I'm nobody's girl at the moment."

"Yeah," another guard said, "She spends her time with the butch. She probably don't even like men at all."

"Is that right? You a butch or what? I know you hang out with the redhead."

I had never heard the term "butch" before, but it didn't take a genius to understand what the guard was implying. I wondered what would happen if I decided to break his nose, if the others would try to attack me or not. They were pretty tipsy, so their reaction time was sure to be slower than usual. But they had me effectively surrounded. I'd probably only get one or two shots in before one of them hit me back. And even though I'm sure they'd be reluctant to hit a woman, attacking an Imperial guard wasn't something they would let me get away with.

Thankfully, I didn't have to find out what would happen. From behind the group came another voice. "Gentlemen. Mind if I ask what's going on here?"

The guards fumbled to attention as Carius walked up to us, his hands folded behind his back and his red cape fluttering behind him. He nodded briefly to me and glanced up at the faces of the men. "May I join your little discussion? What were you talking about?"

"Nothing, sir," one of the guards said quickly. "We were just asking the girl here if she needed any help. She was just walking around without a coat on, and we were concerned."

"That's very commendable of you," Carius said as he looked over at me. "Is everything okay, then?"

I shrugged. "Everything is fine. I was just taking a look around."

"Well, I'm glad that you're okay," Carius said. "And how about you, men? I hope you had a good time this evening. You didn't over-indulge, did you?"

"We had a very good time, sir. And no, we didn't have too much to drink," the first guard said.

"Excellent," Carius said jovially, and slapped the guard on the shoulder. "Maybe morale around the fort will improve a bit now."

"I think it will, sir."

"Wonderful. Well, it's time to be getting on," he said, stepping away toward the command office building. "Have a good evening, men."

The five of them relaxed visibly, and one of them had the presence of mind to say, "Yes, sir. And a good evening to you as well."

"And to yourself, my lady," Carius said to me. "Do you have any plans tonight? Would you like to come to my office for a drink?"

I glanced back at the five guards and said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I would love to." I smirked and took Carius' arm as we walked back to the office. He opened the door for me and I went inside, almost unable to keep a straight face. I managed to look back out the door at the group of guards, and I could almost hear their thoughts. Maybe I was the Captain's girl after all.

"So what was actually going on out there?" Carius asked when he closed the door.

"Nothing," I said. "Pretty much the same thing that always happens when you get a lot of men drunk and there aren't many women around."

Carius chuckled at that as we ascended one of the staircases up to the third floor, where his personal quarters were. "I guess I'm glad I showed up then."

"Yeah, you might have wound up with some of your men in the infirmary."

Carius laughed out loud, and I liked the sound of it. He wasn't laughing at me, he was just laughing at the thought of his men getting in over their head. It was pretty funny when I thought about it, and I laughed a bit as well. We made our way down the hall, and I relaxed as the warmth of the building seeped into my extremities.

Carius' office was illuminated by half a dozen candles, casting a warm, flickering glow, and making the sparse room almost seem like a comfortable place. I took a seat in a chair as Carius walked over to fetch some glasses. He poured me a glass of flin and one for himself as well.

"Why do I have the feeling you were out there specifically to look for me?" I asked as he handed me the drink.

Carius chuckled to himself and unlatched the hook for his cape. He draped it across the back of his chair and took a seat. "Whatever do you mean, Sasha?" He raised his glass and tipped it in my direction in a silent toast before taking a drink.

"I mean the candles, the drinks," I said with a gesture around the room. "It even looks like you cleaned the place up a bit. I think you might have been planning a romantic evening with just the two of us." I sipped my flin and felt the warmness burn down my throat, erasing any lingering cold from outside.

"And what if I was? Spending a romantic evening with me is preferable to a boring night fending off the advances of drunken soldiers, I would hope."

I had to give him that. He certainly had a way with words. I finished off my drink quickly and handed it out for him to fill again. He grinned, that same wolfish grin I was getting so used to, and dutifully refilled my glass.

"Besides," he added, "you didn't have any other plans this evening, did you?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, now you do. And you should consider yourself lucky. There are women all across Vvardenfell who would be more than happy to spend a romantic evening with me," he said jokingly.

"Oh, I bet there are," I said, taking another drink.

"And I can't help but notice that you didn't leave with the supply ship this afternoon, so you must have decided you like it here." Carius raised an eyebrow and grinned again as he downed his drink as well. He poured another, and then poured me another as well when I was finished with mine.

I hadn't been drunk since before my time in prison, and rarely even before that, so the flin hit me a little harder than I expected. I soon felt lightheaded and found myself giggling uncontrollably at even the slightest joke from Carius. I forced myself to slow down, but before I knew it, the two of us had drained an entire bottle, and I'm pretty sure most of it had been me. I wondered if I was even able to stand up straight, much less walk back to my bunk in the guard's quarters.

Carius took out another bottle but I shook my head firmly. "No, I'm done, thank you very much," I said, holding up my hands. "No more for me, thanks."

"You sure?" he asked, pouring himself another glass.

"Yes, I'm sure. I think I'm drunk."

"I think we both are," he said, and we both began laughing again. I laughed until I was gasping for breath and red in the face, and nearly fell out of my chair. Carius leaned across his desk to take my hand, to help me regain my balance, and accidentally knocked over the bottle of flin. It tipped over and spilled across the desk, and splashed all over my pants.

"Oh, damn," Carius laughed, and I cracked up again as he picked up the bottle. He took some rags from behind the desk and tried to clean up the mess and I tried to stifle my giggles. I used my sleeves to try to soak up some of the spilled flin on my pants, but I realized how dumb that was, and quickly gave up. I laughed so much that my sides were beginning to hurt, the thought of which made me laugh even more.

"You did that on purpose," I said in between gasps for breath.

"Did what? Spill the drinks?" Carius asked.

"Yeah, you spilled it on me on purpose."

"And why would I do that?"

"To get me out of my clothes."

"Is it going to work?"

I leaned back in my chair and burst out laughing again. Carius came around the side of the desk and helped me to me feet, but I was really in no condition to stand. I had tears on my cheeks from laughing so hard. The warmth from the alcohol, combined with the warm light from the candles, suddenly made me feel overheated. Carius held my hand and slipped his other arm around me, pretending that he was just helping me keep my balance. His hand slipped under my sweater and up my back as he closed the space between us.

I managed to stick my other hand out to hold him back. "You're a very bad man, Falx," I said softly. "You got me drunk so you could have your way with me."

"Maybe I did," he admitted. "What are you going to do about it? You're free to leave, you know."

As if to demonstrate that, he stepped back a bit and held out his arm toward the door, as if I'd forgotten it was there and he was just pointing it out. I was pretty drunk and would need help making it back to my bunk, but I could still leave if I wanted to. Carius might have been a cunning womanizer, but he wasn't going to hold me here against my will. And to be honest, I had to give him credit for that. I was in no position to resist, after all.

Why had I agreed to come up to his room, anyway? Did I really think he wanted to have just one drink and then wish me a good night? Deep down, I had known what he had in mind, so why pretend otherwise?

Maybe I was just trying to convince myself that I wasn't attracted to him. I hadn't been with a man in years, since before my incarceration. Not of my own free will, at any rate. Carius had been one of the most friendly and respectful men I'd met since my release, and none of the other men at the fort really held my interest anyway. For a man with a reputation like his, he was certainly letting me take control of the situation, giving me every opportunity to leave. And I had to admit to myself that I didn't really want to leave at all.

When I didn't move, he slid closer to me again, slipping his arms around me. At some point, I didn't even notice when, he had removed his armor, and now just wore his slacks and red shirt. "So what do you say?" he asked gently. "Come to bed with me?"

"Okay," I breathed. "But just this once, okay?"

He smiled and then leaned forward to kiss me. He scooped me into his arms and picked me up effortlessly, then carried me through the side door and into his bedroom.


	10. Chapter 10

_If you have kept reading up to this point, then hopefully that means you like the story. I started writing this very long ago, back when I still played Morrowind, but it was not until much later that I started posting chapters here. And since then I've been updating this very slowly, since it always took a back seat to my other writing projects._

_For your general information, I am following the basic plot of the Bloodmoon expansion in the beginning of the novel, but as the story progresses I will diverge significantly from what happens in the game. I never actually beat the Bloodmoon expansion, so I wasn't sure how it ended. Instead, I just came up with my own version of the plot. There are also a few other minor differences between my story and official Elder Scrolls canon._

10

I awoke the following morning huddled up in thick blankets, the fire in the fireplace now just smoldering ash. I yawned and stretched, and rolled over in bed to find that Carius was already up. I slept so deeply that I didn't even wake when he got out of bed. This was no real surprise, given how much I'd had to drink. Carius probably had business to take care of in the morning, so he'd let me sleep in.

After using the privy, I walked back out into the bedroom and got dressed. My clothes smelled like the flin that had spilled on them the night before, so I decided that the first order of business was to get a new change of clothes. And then something to eat. After that, I would figure out what to do regarding Carius.

The two guards outside Carius' quarters did not so much as snicker at me as I left, which I did appreciate. They merely nodded in greeting, as if it was perfectly normal for me to be there. Carius had probably spoken to them earlier.

By the time I got outside, I realized that I was already late for breakfast. Liman would probably be very upset with me, but I could live with that. I walked across the empty courtyard, the brisk wind erasing any lingering effects from the alcohol. It was even colder than it had been the night before, and I was chilled almost to the bone by the time I went inside the guard's quarters.

I went to my bunk room and changed clothes, leaving the dirty ones in a pile on the floor by my bed. What I really wanted was a bath, but that would have to wait until later.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up."

I turned around to see Gaea standing in the doorway, shaking her head, her hands on her hips like a disappointed nanny. She wasn't wearing her armor, so I guessed she'd just returned from breakfast.

"Do I even have to ask where you spent the night?" she asked.

"Probably not," I said with a guilty smile.

Gaea sighed and came into the room. "The fox sure is persistent, I'll give him that. I guess he finally talked you into sleeping with him?"

"Well, it was more of a mutual decision."

Gaea looked me over and finally smiled. "Well, if you're happy about it, then I'm happy for you as well."

"Thanks."

She went over to her bed and began laying out her armor. I sat down and pulled on a pair of heavier boots, and then donned a fur jacket. When Gaea was ready, I helped her put on her armor, by adjusting the clasps behind her shoulders. She could have done it herself if she had to, but I figured I might as well help.

"By the way," I said, "I heard something last night."

"About what?"

I tightened one of the clasps and tried to think of the best way to broach the subject. I decided to just tell her what I heard. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I heard some of the other guards talking last night, and they called you a butch."

Gaea stiffened and I heard her take a sharp breath. I pretended not to notice and continued to adjust the straps on her back. "Now, I've never heard that word before, but I think I can guess what it means. I was just curious if it's true."

"And if it is?" Gaea said carefully.

"You don't have to be embarrassed or anything," I said in what I hoped was a supportive tone of voice. "It doesn't change my opinion of you. I mean, I fooled around with other girls when I was growing up. I understand what it feels like."

"Do you?" she asked, and turned around to face me.

"Yeah, I think I do. I eventually grew out of it, but for awhile I was much more interested in women than men. And I've known other women like that."

Gaea seemed unsure what to say, so she just took a deep breath and shrugged nervously. "Well, I'm ... I'm glad you understand then."

I smiled and touched her arm. "You don't have to feel uptight around me or anything. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Most of them know already," Gaea admitted. "Or at least they suspect it. I haven't been with any of the men here at the fort, and I guess someone started a rumor. I think my old commanding officer might have slipped word to somebody here."

"Is that why you got sent here?"

"Pretty much," Gaea sighed. "They caught me in bed with someone, with another woman, and they arranged for me to be transferred here a few weeks after that."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't feel bad for me," she said, and then cleared her throat and went over to her bed to put on her belt and sword sheath. "It's ancient history now. As soon as I get off of this stupid island I'm getting a transfer to Cyrodiil. I have some friends there, and they said that people are ... less judgmental there."

I didn't know if that was true, as Cyrodiil was still a fairly conservative city. Gaea might find more acceptance in a place like Sadrith Mora, since the eastern islands off of Vvardenfell were such a mix of races and cultures, they might be more open-minded about differing sexualities. Or at least I heard they were, as I'd never been there. To my knowledge, few places in Morrowind were truly accepting of female lovers. In most places, like Skyrim, it was only tolerated in teenagers who were merely experimenting, as I had done.

It must have been even harder for Gaea, who was now surrounded by men, with few women to become close with. As I looked back on it, I realized that Gaea had been hinting at it, perhaps feeling me out to see if I shared her attraction, since I had become friends with her. I also remembered when she told me about Carius, that he "wasn't her type." I knew now he wasn't her type because he was a man.

She finished getting ready for her guard duty, and slid her sword into the scabbard with a loud click. As she was leaving, she said, "Are you going down to the kitchen?"

"Yeah, I missed breakfast. I better go apologize to Liman."

"I'm headed that way too."

We went down the hall and descended the stairs together. As we walked, she said, "If you're not busy later tonight, I'd appreciate if we could talk a bit more. I mean, if that's okay with you," she added quickly.

"Sure thing," I replied.

"Thanks. It's been awhile since I knew someone I could really talk to."

"I understand."

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I suddenly saw Carius out in the main lobby area, talking with two of his men. He glanced up and saw me, and waved me over.

I smiled at first, but I noticed that he wasn't smiling back. He looked agitated about something, and I quickly walked over to him, Gaea coming along as well.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I know this is short notice," Carius said, "But I need you to help me with something. I need you to go to Raven Rock as soon as possible."

"What? You mean right now?"

"Yes, please. You have to deliver a message there. Go get ready right now and meet me at the Imperial Cult offices. I have to talk with Carnius Magius first."

"What's this about? Is something going on?"

"I can't talk about it," Carius said quickly, ending the conversation. "I'll be in Magius' office, meet me there as soon as you can."

With that, he ran off in a hurry with the two other guards in tow. I stood in the lobby, completely shocked, for a few seconds, before letting it sink in. Gaea stood beside me and held out her hands helplessly when I looked questioningly at her.

"No one said anything to me," she said. "I don't know what's going on."

"I guess I better get ready then," I said, and hurried back to the stairs. Gaea decided to come with me, and we returned to the bunk room.

First, I had to dress warmer, if I was going to be traveling on foot. I added another pair of pants over the leather ones I already had on, and put on a thicker coat with a fur-lined hood. Gaea got me some equipment from her lockbox and gave me a pair of warm gloves and a belt with item pouches and a plain sheath. I took out my sword, the one Carius had given me, and slid it into the sheath, where it fit perfectly.

I also had managed to procure some knives that were almost perfect as throwing blades, and Gaea watched me curiously as I tucked four into my boots and slid another into my belt.

"What are the knives for?" she asked.

"Just in case," I said with a shrug.

Gaea also gave me a utility pack with important items like a flint for starting a fire, as well as some clean bandages, a few assorted potions for minor injuries, and a compass. I hooked the pack onto the back of my belt and tried to think of anything else that I might need. Thinking of nothing, I left the guard quarters and hurried over to the Imperial Cult offices. Gaea came with me as well, although I knew she was supposed to be reporting to duty by now.

Inside the Cult offices, I heard raised voices that silenced almost as soon as I showed up. A couple of low level Imperial priests darted down the hallway as if escaping from somewhere, and I wondered again just what in the hell was going on. As we came to Magius' office, the door swung open and Carius came out, looking very upset, but he held it in check as he saw me coming.

"Here," he said brusquely, handing me a large paper envelope. "Get this to Raven Rock immediately. It's very urgent."

"I need a map," I said. "I don't know how to get there."

"Oh damn it, I forgot that," he said to himself. He saw Gaea standing there and said, "You know the way there, don't you?"

"Of course, sir," Gaea said.

"Then both of you go."

"Why don't I just take it there myself, sir?"

"No," Carius said hesitantly. "You should both go, it would be safer with two people. You know it's dangerous out there."

"Yes, sir. Of course."

We turned to go and Carius called my name. I looked back and he came up to me, looking almost distraught. For a brief moment, he was not the confident, charming man I'd known up until now. It was the first time I saw him look scared.

"Go there as fast as possible, but don't take any chances, okay?" he said. "I don't ... I don't want you getting hurt." He took my hand with a pleading look in his eyes.

I almost couldn't speak, I was so stunned by his behavior. I would have expected him to be more in control in front of his troops, but his defenses were down. Whatever was going on, it must have been incredibly serious, for him to betray his emotions so openly.

"I'll be fine," I said, not knowing what else to say. "I know how to take care of myself, remember?"

"Yes, I know you can," he said, and then to Gaea as well. "Good luck, both of you."

A minute later, Gaea and I were heading out the rear gate and walking off into the wilderness. I had the envelope tucked into my jacket and a hand on my sword. The snow-covered ground crunched under my feet, and the bitterly cold wind stung my face, but I felt strangely energized.

I didn't know what was going on, but I had a feeling that I was going to find out soon enough.


	11. Chapter 11

11

"Are you going to be warm enough?" I asked Gaea as we headed up the hill behind the fort and into the woods.

"Sure, I'll be fine. I spend hours at a time standing at the top of the walls, don't forget. This armor is very warm." Gaea had her sword drawn, carrying it loosely in her hand as we walked, her eyes darting left and right.

I kept my sword sheathed, but I noticed her wariness. "Are the woods really that dangerous?" I asked. "I know there's wolves and bears to worry about."

"There's also the barbarians, the berserkers," Gaea said. "You can usually hear them coming, though, cause they scream like crazy when they spot you. We see them near the fort sometimes, and half the time they barely have any clothes on, just boots and a loincloth or something. They're dangerous cause they're so unpredictable, but you can fight them off pretty easily."

"I know about them," I said. "In some places in Skyrim, you have to put yourself into the battle-trance and spend a week or more in that state, in order to gain rank as a warrior. It takes incredible endurance to survive like that."

"I bet it does," Gaea said.

We walked past a grove of trees and over a ridge, and I glanced back behind us to see the top of the fort disappear from view as we crested the hill. This was the farthest I had ever walked into the woods, but I felt confident despite the many warnings I'd received about the dangers of the forest. I had spent most of my youth in places more inhospitable and dangerous than this, and I didn't seriously think a bear or a wolf would bother us.

"Anything else we have to worry about?" I asked.

Gaea looked around and said, "Well, there's also the forest fairies. I hope we don't run into one of those things."

"What are they?"

"They go by a bunch of different names. Forest fairies, treefolk, spriggans, wood nymphs. They're like natural spirits, about the size of a person but they look like a tree."

"Okay, I know what you're talking about. I've heard of those. They're actually protectors of the forest, they guard the trees."

"Yeah, I've heard that," Gaea said. "But they're dangerous. Even if you manage to kill one of them, they come back to life again and again. All you can really do is run away and hope it doesn't chase after you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

We walked through the trees at a steady pace, our feet crunching in the snow, our breath coming out like smoke. Gaea's armor clinked and clanked as we walked, but I moved almost silently, stepping on small rocks to minimize the sounds my footsteps made.

We traveled uphill for some time, through a maze of tall fir trees with snow on their branches. Occasionally, one of the branches would tremble and a cascade of snow would tumble to the ground, and I watched carefully to see if one of the spriggan creatures was the cause. But I saw no sign of any other animals.

Walking among the trees made me feel more at home, although the area of Skyrim I grew up in didn't have forests like this. But the feel of the cold on my face, the smell of the trees, the emptiness and the sense of natural purity seemed comfortable to me. These woods were untouched, this entire area felt brand new, as if we were the first people to ever see it. I wondered how long this area might remain so pristine.

Eventually, the mining colony at Raven Rock, if it was successful, would grow and expand. That meant more people and more buildings. And then Fort Frostmoth would also expand, and eventually, a village would spring up on the shore to provide more services to the guards and the miners. And that meant more wood for construction, and more hunting for food. Someday, the trees that surrounded me might be chopped down to build a new town center or some other building..

"How far is it to Raven Rock?" I asked.

"About five or six miles," Gaea replied. "Normally, we don't go through the woods when we go there. We walk along the coast and then head north, cause it's a safer trip. But the Captain said to go as fast as possible, so we'll go the direct route."

"Speaking of Carius," I said, "Was he acting strange today, or what?"

Gaea laughed a bit. "He was acting strange, yes. I was going to ask you about it, actually. You must have really made an impression on him last night. I've never seen him behave that way."

"I didn't think I was that good," I chuckled.

"Well, he must have thought so. I think he's fallen for you."

"I get that a lot."

"Do you?"

"Not really," I laughed.

We chatted a bit more as we walked, but eventually we stopped talking and focused more on our surroundings as we penetrated deeper into the wilderness of Solstheim. Gaea assured me that she knew where she was going, so I just followed her and kept my eyes on the treeline for anything out of the ordinary. During the day, the forest seemed safe and pristine, but I certainly did not want to find myself out here at night. At some point, I also decided it was safer to have my sword already in hand, and I carried it the rest of the way.

We passed over ridges and climbed hills, until we must have been at an elevation hundreds of feet higher than the fort. The air even seemed colder and drier. My lips became chapped and my face stung with the cold, but still I felt good.

In the end, despite my repeated warnings about how dangerous it was, Gaea and I only caught sight of two wolves during the trip. I noticed them far in the distance, watching us warily from the top of a nearby ridge, but they didn't follow us. We had no other problems the entire time, and made it to Raven Rock in one piece.


	12. Chapter 12

12

We crested a hill and walked down along a frozen stream, passing a small pond crusted with ice and snow. Just beyond the next row of trees, I could see a clearing and some small wooden buildings.

"There it is," Gaea said. "Welcome to Raven Rock."

We walked into the clearing and I looked around to see several ramshackle buildings scattered haphazardly around a central area where the grass had been trampled to mud, although the ground was frozen solid now. There was a fine layer of snow almost everywhere, and only a few stray footprints marred the serene surface. The buildings – barracks for the miners, I assumed – looked hastily built and not very sturdy.

The compound was built around the base of a tall rock formation that rose up from the ground and sloped further uphill, meeting with the beginning of the mountain range in the distance. The only building in the compound that looked well-constructed was the large, two-story mine building that was built against the side of the rock formation, and what I assumed was the entrance to the mine itself.

Gaea and I walked unhindered into the compound. The place seemed deserted. No one came to greet us, or even ask who we were. There didn't seem to be any guards anywhere, which hardly seemed intelligent, given the dangers of the forest and the supposed wealth of the mine. I was genuinely surprised that we could just walk right in.

"Is there anyone here?" I asked, looking around.

"They're probably all working in the mine," Gaea guessed.

"They don't have a wall. Not even a wooden fence."

"I know. Not very smart, huh? I guess the East Empire Company doesn't want to waste the manpower to build proper defenses when there is ebony to be mined. Even these barracks look like an afterthought."

Finally, we saw someone, as a miner came out of one of the side buildings. He was a Dunmer wearing baggy black trousers, a ragged brown tunic, and boots that seemed far too large for his feet. I soon noticed that his pants were actually brown as well, they just appeared black because they were so dirty. He stopped in his tracks when he saw us, and then gestured toward the two-story building.

"You lookin' for the office? It's over there," he mumbled.

"Hey," Gaea said to him, "Don't you have anyone keeping watch here?"

"Not now," the Dunmer said. "At night time we do, but not really in the day time. Sorry, but my break time is over. I got to go back inside." With that, he trotted away from us and went towards the mine.

I looked at Gaea and shrugged. "Come on," I said. "Let's deliver this stupid note and get out of here."

We went to the main building and walked up a ramp to a raised wooden deck. It continued to the left, and the walkway disappeared behind the office and into the mine, where the Dunmer had just gone. I saw a mass of dirty footprints all over the walkway, indicating that this is where the miners came and went on a regular basis. Gaea and I went up to the front door and went inside without knocking.

If I had been expecting a tidy and orderly office, I'd have been mistaken. There were tables and cabinets scattered around in no particular order, and stacks of papers and documents all over the place. There were two people in a corner leaning over a map and they glanced at us when we entered.

"Who are you?" one of them asked.

"I'm here to deliver a message," I answered. "Who's in charge here?"

"Talk to Falco. He's upstairs."

Gaea and I went to an open staircase and walked up to the second floor. It was almost as disorganized as the first floor, but not quite. Instead of random tables, there were two rows of desks, and some flimsy wooden torch racks hanging from the ceiling instead of proper chandeliers. There were a few more people here as well, hunched over desks or carefully perusing documents and maps. I noticed a bunch of black rocks stacked on a table in the corner, that I realized were chunks of pure ebony.

"Excuse me?" a portly man said as he walked up to us. "Can I help you with something?" He was a middle-aged man with a receding hair line and a poorly-trimmed beard, and he looked like he'd slept in his clothes.

I held out the envelope and said, "I have a letter for whoever is in charge here."

"Oh, well I'm Falco Galenus. I'm the manager here, so I'll take that."

I handed him the letter and he walked over to one of the desks, picking up a pair of glasses and placing them on his face. He tore open the envelope and quickly read the letter, frowning slightly as he did so.

"Oh well," he muttered. "One more thing to worry about."

I crossed my arms and walked over to him. "Can I ask what the letter says?"

Falco shrugged and put his glasses back on the desk. "Oh, it's just another warning about those barbarians. Not a lot of good a warning will do, I'm afraid."

"Don't you have any guards here at all?"

"Not at the moment. We are supposed to have an arrangement with the Legion, but they haven't sent us the soldiers we asked for. It's been two weeks now and we're still defenseless out here."

"Can't you just have some of the miners stand guard?"

"I wish I could," Falco said. He sighed heavily and leaned on the desk, running a pudgy hand through his thinning hair. "But the miners are all under contract. They aren't qualified or trained for combat, you know. And I can't spare them in any case, because our quotas to the EEC are so high that I need every miner I have just to meet them."

He paused then and looked closely at me, as if noticing for the first time that I wasn't one of the mine employees. "Excuse me, but who are you again?"

"My name is Sasha. I'm just the messenger that Captain Carius sent."

"Oh, okay then. You aren't wearing a guard uniform is all, so I was confused."

I smiled. "No offense, but you look pretty confused. Why are things so hectic around here? I would have thought that this place would be more organized."

Falco sighed wearily again and shook his head. "We don't have enough workers, enough supplies, or enough time to keep track of all our paperwork. My supervisors want everything done yesterday, you know? We have to fill out all these quality reports on the raw material we find, and they also want constant progress reports on the mine. Plus we have to calculate all the workers' commissions for each discovery they make."

"I couldn't help but notice that you don't even have a wall around the mine. Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

"I've been begging Carnius Magius to fill out a requisition form for some workers to finish the construction projects around the mine," Falco insisted. "But all he seems to care about is how much ebony we produce. We barely have enough supplies to even keep the mine operating, but if we don't meet our production quotas they threaten to dock our pay."

"Seems like a pretty bad place to work," I said bluntly.

Falco managed a tired grin. "Yes, right now it is. But in a few years, when we have more people and production really takes off, it will be a very good job to have. I'm confident that the ebony reserves here are quite sizable. There is a lot of money to be made here."

I was hardly an expert in Empire trade or the market for commodities, but even I knew just how valuable raw ebony was. "A lot of money" sounded like an understatement.

All that money on the line, and the East Empire Company couldn't even bother to hire some workers to build a wall to protect their investment?


	13. Chapter 13

13

There was nothing for us to do there, and no reason to stay any longer, so we left the office and headed out of the compound. As we exited the building, we could hear the faint echoes of clanging and pounding from inside the mine. Gaea looked around and merely shook her head in disgust.

By now, my stomach was rumbling painfully, since I had completely skipped breakfast and it was already past lunch. I was in a hurry to get back to the fort, so I could finally get something to eat. I was also anxious to talk to Carius, since I really hadn't had the opportunity to do that either.

"So," Gaea said casually, as if reading my mind. "Are you going to move out of the bunk room and move in with the fox permanently?"

"I don't know yet," I said with a chuckle. "I was thinking about it. I don't want to give him the wrong idea, though. I still intend to leave Solstheim in a few weeks. I'm not going to stay here and marry him or anything."

"Why not? That might be kind of fun. I could be your Maid of Honor."

"Yeah, and we could get that weasel Magius to be the Best Man."

Gaea laughed. "Well, I'm sure the men would enjoy a good wedding. It would give them the excuse to get roaring drunk again."

"Tell me about it," I said. "Everyone certainly had enough to drink last night."

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We didn't have anyone passed out in the hallways, or puking from the top of the walls."

"Now that would be entertaining."

We chatted for awhile longer, but the conversation died down as we walked deeper into the forest. We both kept a sharp eye out for wolves, bears, or anything else. Gaea walked a few paces in front of me, but I could have made the trip back to the fort on my own, since I had our tracks in the snow to guide me back.

We walked perhaps two miles through the wilderness before I spotted something and hissed at Gaea to get her attention. She stopped and looked back at me, her sword drawn. I pointed in the snow off to the right.

"Someone's been here," I said quietly. "There's footprints in the snow."

"I see them. Are they from a person?"

"Yeah, looks like three or four of them," I said, taking a long look at the jumbled footsteps. If I'd had a couple minutes to spare, I could have been able to discern exactly how many, and if they were men, women, or children. But I didn't want to waste time.

"Come on, let's keep going," Gaea said.

We hadn't walked fifty feet before I heard something out in the trees. I paused and was about to say something to Gaea, when suddenly, a high-pitched scream burst out from the trees maybe twenty yards away. I spun around, sword in hand, eyes scanning the woods.

Gaea backed up to get closer to me, her head whipping left and right. Suddenly a man jumped up from behind some bushes and leaped towards us, and one more nearby appeared as well. Gaea faced then and that's when I heard the distinctive wet thwap of a bow from behind us.

"Get down!" I shouted, hurling myself at Gaea.

An arrow whistled out of the trees far behind us and struck Gaea in the back of the leg right above her knee. She shrieked and went down, grabbing her leg with her free hand, trying to hold her sword up with the other.

I jumped up and raised my sword as the berserker came at us. He was a burly Nord with a scraggly beard and wearing nothing but fur pants and boots. His chest was bare, marked with splashes of blue paint. He screamed and swung a huge long sword in my direction.

I ducked backward and the sword swished right by me, the blade whipping just a few inches past my face. As soon I was free of the blade, I jumped forward and stabbed my sword directly into the berserker's stomach. His scream turned into a gurgle as he stared at me in shock, his legs going out from under him. He slipped free of my blade and collapsed to the ground, a fresh splatter of red marking the white snow.

The second berserker was bare-chested like the other, his long blonde hair tied with strips of cloth, his beard covered in snow and bits of ice. He stomped towards me and lashed out with his sword. I dodged the blade and swung back, our swords clashing with loud ringing noises, the cold blades cracking into each other. The berserker fought more conservatively, having witnessed the quick death of his companion, and I managed to gain ground on him quickly, countering his size and strength with my own speed and skill.

"Sasha!" Gaea cried.

I dared glance over my shoulder to see two more barbarians creep out of the trees, one of them with a bow slung over his shoulder. They advanced on Gaea, who pulled herself backward, her leg useless with the arrow jutting out of it, blood pooled on the ground underneath her. She lifted her sword desperately, looking at the two berserkers with a panicked expression.

I jumped forward, my sword a blur as the berserker tried to defend against me. I saw a terrified look in his wild eyes, a look of blind panic. His sword thrusts became more wild and off-balance as he tried to keep up. Whatever he had expected when he attacked us, it certainly was not someone like me.

I knocked his sword aside and swept sideways as he tried to swing down at me. My sword slashed across his stomach and he groaned once, his hands fumbling at his torso in a dying attempt to keep his intestines in place. He fell to his knees and then flopped face down, his sword falling from his bloody hands.

I turned and in one quick motion drew one of the knives from my belt. I hurled it through the air as hard as I could, and it flipped end over end before embedding itself right into the arm of one of the other barbarians. He howled in pain and grabbed the blade, with a stunned look on his dirty face. He yanked it out with a shout of pain, blood spilling down his bare arm, and tried to throw it back at me, but it fell into the snow.

Both of them stared at me indecisively and then back at Gaea, who had propped herself up against a tree and was holding up her sword with one hand, and gripping her bloody leg with the other. Her face looked pale from the blood loss. She was an easy target, but I was much more than they had bargained for, as their two dead companions could surely attest to.

They both came forward, coming in from different angles, trying to flank me. I was about to take my best shot at the first one when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked, thinking that a fifth berserker had somehow come up behind me, but it wasn't another barbarian.

It was a Nord with flowing blonde hair and leather armor: Reinhardt Red-Spear, the Nord that I had met outside the fort a few days before. He ran into the fray with a shout, his long sword swinging down at one of the berserkers. The two of them fought backwards, their swords clashing.

The other berserker, the one with the wounded arm, shouted at me and swung a mace. I danced backwards and he almost lost his balance, but he quickly regained his footing before I could jump in for a killing blow. He grimaced and shouted a garbled curse before launching into another attack. I deflected three mace strikes before the berserker over-extended again, swinging the mace too hard so he was momentarily off-balance.

I swung my sword up in a vertical thrust and cut through his wrist. His severed hand, still holding the mace, went sailing over my head, and the berserker screamed in pain, staring in shock at the spray of blood jetting from his wrist.

I stepped forward and buried the tip of my sword right into his heart. He gurgled once, and then he went limp and flopped over sideways.

In front of me, Reinhardt Red-Spear spun around and slashed his blade across his opponent's exposed stomach, and the berserker cried out as he died, his stomach sliced open. Reinhardt stopped and stared at me, his breath coming fast.

"It's good to see you again, Sasha," he said.

"Come on," I said, running over to Gaea.

She winced in agony, blood spilling freely down her leg and across the snow. She was breathing heavily, and her face was dotted with sweat from the exertion of pulling herself along the ground.

"Potions," she gasped. "In your pack."

I fumbled in my pack for the potions as Reinhardt knelt beside Gaea and placed his hands on her leg. She winced in pain again and he said gently, "Listen, you have to turn over and lie on your stomach so I can get a good look. It's going to be okay, I know what I'm doing."

Gaea did as she was told, moaning in pain as she rolled over. Reinhardt took out a knife and cut through the fabric of her pants to expose the wound. The arrow shaft was jammed deep into her leg, and blood seeped freely out, smearing all over his hands.

I handed him the potions. "Minor healing," I said.

"It will have to do," he muttered, and placed his hand on the arrow.

"You're going to pull it out?" I asked. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"We have to pull it out or it won't heal right," he said. "Listen, Gaea. I have to pull the arrow out. Okay? Just hold on tight, it will be over in just a second."

"What if it doesn't come out?" I asked.

"They don't use barbed arrows," he said. "Trust me. I've done this before. Now hold her leg down."

I did as I was told, and Reinhardt placed one hand on her thigh. And then with one quick jerk, he yanked the arrow out of her leg.

Gaea screamed in pain and thrashed, but we held her leg down. Blood spurted up and splashed across my hands. Reinhardt quickly poured one of the potions over her wound and placed the other into her hand.

"Here, drink this," he said. Then he took a rag from his own pack and wiped away most of the blood from her leg. He dabbled more of the healing potion onto her leg and the blood slowly dried up. The cut didn't heal right away, but at least the bleeding stopped.

I handed him the bandages from my pack and he wrapped them expertly around her leg, using strips of cloth from his own pouch to tie the bandages in place. Gaea panted for breath and laid there, exhausted. I leaned back and took a handful of snow to clean the blood off of my hands, while Reinhardt did the same. He examined his handiwork and nodded.

"It's good enough for now," he said, brushing loose strands of hair from his face. "Until we get back to the fort, anyway."

Together, we managed to get Gaea back onto her feet. She was unsteady and light-headed from the blood loss, but she stayed upright and was soon able to limp along, her arms over our shoulders. It was kind of awkward because Reinhardt was taller than me, so Gaea had to lean sideways, but there wasn't much else we could do.

"Good thing I got here," Reinhardt said. "Of course," he said, glancing back at the dead bodies, "It looks like you didn't need my help fighting them off."

"What were you doing out here anyway?" I asked, redirecting the conversation away from myself.

"I was following them," he said. "I found their prints in the snow this morning and I've been tracking them since. I heard you screaming and got here as fast as I could. What were the two of you doing so far from the fort?"

"Delivering a message to Raven Rock," I said.

Reinhardt nodded and seemed to accept that. "Well, like I said, it was a good thing I got here when I did."

"Yes," Gaea said tiredly, limping along with us. "I think I would have been stuck there alone while Sasha ran for help."

"That certainly was some impressive fighting back there," Reinhardt said, swinging the conversation back at me. "I didn't even see you kill the first one. I have to admit you surprised me a bit."

"Yeah, well I bet those barbarians were pretty surprised too."

"He's right, you know," Gaea said. "I know you can handle a sword, because I've watched you practice in the armory. But you fought those men back there like you knew what you were doing."

"I told you," I said, "My father was in the Fighter's Guild. I worked with him a few times, I've fought people before."

"You've killed before?" Reinhardt asked.

"Yes," I said testily. "But I'd rather not talk about it."

Reinhardt looked forward and nodded slightly to himself. As soon as we returned to the fort, I would have to have a little talk with Mr. Red-Spear and find out exactly what he knew, or what he thought he knew about me. He knew my real name, although how he knew that was an unsolved mystery. But just because he knew who I was, didn't mean he knew anything specific about me. There were surely false rumors about me floating around, and who knows what information had spread about me since I'd been in prison.

For the moment though, I was glad he kept quiet about it. The last thing I wanted was for Gaea, or anyone else at the fort for that matter, to learn about my past.


	14. Chapter 14

14

It took us several hours to make it back to the fort. Walking at regular speed, it might have taken two hours, but it was slow going, trying to limp along with Gaea, stopping every couple hundred yards so she could catch her breath. Reinhardt checked her bandages several times, taking them off twice and re-wrapping her knee. The arrow wound had not stopped bleeding completely, but Reinhardt seemed confident that it would heal properly once we got some proper healing potions at the fort.

Gaea tried to keep in good spirits, despite the pain. All of us knew that if her leg did not heal properly, it could easily be the end of her career as a soldier in the Legion. If we didn't get some stronger healing potions or better medical attention fairly soon, her knee would never fully heal, and she would probably walk with a serious limp for the rest of her life.

So we went as fast as possible, while still trying to be careful and also be attentive to any more dangers in the woods.

"I wouldn't worry too much about wolves, though," Reinhardt said. "I think we left them with a pretty decent meal back there."

"Yeah," I said. "I suppose so."

"Do you feel guilty about killing them?" he asked, trying to sound casual about it.

"Why should she?" Gaea gasped, trying to walk with her good leg while we carried her.

"They were Nords," I answered. "They were my people. I mean, not my family or anything. But they were still Nords."

"But they attacked us," Gaea said. "They would have killed us without a second thought."

"Of course they would have. They were in battle-trance. And you were wearing your Imperial Legion armor, so they viewed us as enemies. I don't regret defending myself," I clarified. "I just wish that it hadn't been necessary. The battle-trance is an important part of our culture, but it also turns us into victims of our own culture."

"Well said," Reinhardt said with a nod.

By now, I had spent almost all day walking through the forest, and my stomach was growling loudly in protest. The short day had already ended, and the sun had set by the time we reached the fort, making the walk through the forest that much more dangerous. The sky turned a deep grayish blue and the brightest stars were already visible in the growing twilight.

Thankfully, the conversation had not turned back to my fighting skills. Reinhardt surely had his own thoughts on the matter, but I was more worried about what Gaea was thinking about me. Of course, I supposed that she had more important things on her mind at the moment.

Reinhardt stopped suddenly, to catch his breath. He inhaled the cold air deeply and made a strange face. "Do you smell that?" he asked.

I smelled the air and did notice a particular scent on the breeze.

"Smells like smoke," I said. "But not campfire smoke."

"Come on," Reinhardt said, walking forward again. Gaea was getting better at limping with one leg, but she still needed both of us to support her.

As we crested the next ridge, I saw Reinhardt staring hard into the woods ahead of us. I followed his gaze and made out a faint orange glow far beyond the line of trees. The smell of smoke, of burning, became much clearer as we got closer to the fort, and suddenly I had the urge to hurry. Looking through the trees at the hazy orange glow awakened long-forgotten memories in my mind, memories of my childhood.

Although the sky was dark, the area just beyond the edge of the forest seemed to glow brightly. The thick smell of smoke permeated the woods, getting thicker the farther we went. Finally, as we reached the clearing, we could see the flicker of huge flames appear through a choking haze of black smoke.

"By the Gods," Gaea whispered.

Reinhardt's face fell, his shoulders sagging. "Oh no ..."

Beyond the line of tall fir trees, Fort Frostmoth was aflame. Huge columns of smoke erupted from one of the corner towers, and fire swirled energetically along the side of the wall. We could almost feel the heat from over a hundred feet away, and I thought I could hear screaming from inside.

Reinhardt suddenly lowered himself to set Gaea down. "I'm sorry, but we have to –"

"Just go!" Gaea cried, waving us off. "I'll be fine! Go!"

Reinhardt ran off for the fort, with me following close on his heels. Both of us drew our swords as we ran, not knowing what to expect once we reached it. Despite my weariness after the long trip to and from Raven Rock, I felt suddenly energized as adrenaline flooded in my veins. My hair whipped behind me as I ran down the slope to the fort.

Part of the wall was demolished, now a pile of crumbled stone and mortar. I glimpsed one body, clad in Legion armor, slumped in the snow just beyond the wall. But I followed Reinhardt into the fort without slowing down.

The command office was fully engulfed in bright orange flames, so much so that the entire structure seemed like one huge swirling ball of fire. By contrast, the guards' quarters and the Imperial Cult offices seemed untouched, although more fires were burning here and there across the main courtyard. I felt the searing heat from the inferno and had to shield my face as I looked around the yard, my throat closing up with the penetrating smoke filling the air.

Bodies were strewn around, men in their armor, pierced with arrows or cut down with axes, their bodies lying where they had fallen. Again, memories of my childhood surged unwanted into my mind, visions of a Nord village where I had grown up, bodies of innocent women and children cut down, huts and homes burning to cinders. I pushed back the painful recollections and focused on the present. The bodies here were not of helpless civilians, they were the corpses of trained soldiers.

"Help us!" came a cry to our right. "For the love of the Gods, please!"

In the corner of the fort, in between the guards' quarters and the Cult offices, there were half a dozen people walking around in a daze, standing over more fallen bodies. Some were guards, but most of them were the regular staff and Cult members.

Standing at the front of the group was Liman, his white cook's uniform now splattered with blood, and stained with black ash and mud. His forearms were smeared with blood, and his face was etched in despair.

"Sasha!" he cried out, reaching for me. He grabbed my shoulders, as if unsure if I was real. "You're alive!"

Not wasting any time, Reinhardt immediately ran to the people who were lying on the ground. They were the wounded ones, and they writhed and groaned in pain. Reinhardt took charge and ordered one of the Cultists to fetch as many healing potions as he could find.

"They attacked us!" Liman said desperately. "No warning at all! I was in the kitchen and I just started hearing the soldiers shouting!" Tears streaked down his face, mixing with the ash to create black smudges under his eyes.

"Who attacked the fort?" I asked him, trying to keep him calm and failing at it.

"Barbarians!" Liman shouted. "They wore wolf skins, and they just ... they just attacked us all at once. There were so many of them ..."

"I need help here!" Reinhardt called out.

There were a dozen wounded people, and only one of them was not serious. The rest were all badly hurt, stabbed or slashed with swords or axes, or suffering burns and broken bones. I watched with amazement and new found respect as Reinhardt attended to the wounded, quickly assessing their injuries and deciding how to proceed. One of the Cultists returned with some healing potions and a few bandages and rags.

It was not going to be enough to heal all of them here, but thankfully, one of the Cultists was an amateur spellcaster and knew some restoration spells. His magic was used to stabilize the worst injuries while Reinhardt carefully rationed out the healing potions.

"Liman," I said. "Gaea is out there, just north of the fort. She's wounded though, so have a few people go and help her and bring her back here."

Liman seemed happy to be doing something, so he grabbed a few of the other survivors and went off to retrieve Gaea. Reinhardt directed the others to put out the smaller fires and keep an eye on the burning command office, to make sure the flames did not spread to the other buildings. The fire continued to burn, illuminating the entire fort in dangerous, flickering orange light.

We tried to get more information out of the other survivors, but none of them seemed to know much about the attack. Most of them had been inside when it happened, only to run outside and find half of the guards dead and the command office already burning. Only a few of them even saw the attackers, and like Liman, they described them as Nords or barbarians wearing wolf skins.

Sobbing, Liman told me that the barbarians had rushed into the guard building and killed both the young boy Tomas as well as the elderly woman Grilda. He sat on the ground and cried into his hands, unable to deal with the slaughter.

We could not help all of the wounded, as some were too badly hurt for our attempts at healing to be of any use. Although I did not see him do it, I suspected that Reinhardt withheld healing from the most badly wounded in order to focus his work on those he felt he could actually save. In his place, I think I would have done the same. Our meager healing supplies and Reinhardt's medical knowledge were not enough to save those with severe injuries and internal bleeding.

I let Reinhardt do his work, while I directed the survivors in their efforts to put out the fires and get supplies. We had to be extra cautious of the burning embers that drifted away from the inferno. If they landed on the other buildings it could spread the fire even more. The heat from the blaze was so overpowering that I took off my hooded jacket and my second pair of thick pants, so that I wore only my thin shirt and regular leather pants. Even then, I was dripping with sweat the whole time.

Eventually, the fire died down, as there was nothing left to burn. The huge command office was reduced to a stone foundation and some large wooden timbers in the middle of a mountain of smoldering ash. We were lucky enough to keep the flames and burning embers from spreading to the rest of the fort.

When it was all said and done, only sixteen people survived, not counting myself and Gaea. Four guards survived, but all were wounded, and the rest were Cult members and other Legion employees.

Our next task was to tend to all the dead bodies that were scattered around the entire fort, a job that no one wanted, but still had to be done. As soon as the thought occurred to me, I realized that in all the confusion and frantic work, I had not asked the most obvious question.

Perhaps my subconscious had deliberately forced the question from my mind, in order to help me work without distraction. But now that I was clear to think about it, I suddenly ran to Liman and grabbed his arm.

"Liman!" I shouted. "The Captain! Where is Captain Carius?"

Liman stared down at me, his face distraught, and merely shook his head. His arm feebly pointed at the remains of the command office.

"He was in there ..." he whispered. "In the office."

"No," I said, suddenly desperate. "No, he must have come out, he must have ..."

"I'm sorry, Sasha. But I think the Captain is dead."


	15. Chapter 15

15

I stood alone, feeling numb. Bitterly cold wind from the south stung my face as I stood out on the road in front of the fort, my arms crossed over my chest. My hair flapped behind me, blown by the wind. The sky above was pitch black, the thick smoke from the fire obscuring the stars.

I heard footsteps coming up behind me. And then a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"You should get some rest," Reinhardt said. "There's nothing more we can do tonight."

"How are the others?" I asked quietly.

"We lost two. I could only do so much."

"How is Gaea?"

"Physically?" Reinhardt shrugged. "She's okay. Emotionally, I'm not so sure. What about you?"

I took a deep breath and exhaled, watching my breath steam away and dissipate into the night air. I turned slightly to glance back at the charred fort entrance, my eyes narrowing. I could almost not feel the cold anymore, as if my body had adapted to it. There was a hardness there, like the remains of some long-dead emotion I could not identify. I didn't know whether to be sad or angry. Or maybe I should have secretly been happy.

They were not my people. I barely knew most of them, with the exceptions of Liman and the other kitchen workers. Truthfully, I could have cared less about most of the guards there, except for Gaea. In the back of my mind, I still believed that the Imperial Legion was not my friend, but my enemy. Part of me refused to feel grief or shed tears for a bunch of clueless Imperial soldiers encroaching on Nord land.

But I could recognize needless butchery when I saw it. The attack on the fort had not been in response to Imperial aggression, since the guards there had done little more than complain and shirk their duties since I had arrived. Even from my point of view, there had been no reason to attack the fort. It was nothing more than deliberate cruelty and antagonism, and it made no sense. And even if killing the soldiers could be justified, there was no reason to kill non-military personnel like Tomas and Grilda, who had been a Nord herself. And many of the Cult members had died as well, including the pompous Antonius Nuncius, and I didn't even like him, but he didn't deserve to die like that. None of them did.

The attack was nothing more than violence and murder for no reason, and would only lead to a stronger, more militaristic Imperial presence on Solstheim in the long run.

I realized I had not responded to Reinhardt. "I don't know yet," I said quietly.

"Gaea told me that you and Captain Carius were becoming close."

"Yes," I said simply.

"I'm sorry, then. Carius was a good man."

I turned toward Reinhardt, feeling my hands clench into fists. I studied him for a moment, wondering vaguely how much I could actually trust him. He said nothing, letting me look into his clear blue eyes for any trace of guilt, of which I found none.

"Who did this?" I asked.

"You heard Liman. He said it was Nords dressed up in wolf skins."

"Who are they?" I demanded, raising my voice, stepping closer to him.

Reinhardt kept his face neutral, but I was not fooled. He licked his lips, awkwardly stalling for time, and looked past me out toward the sea. "Why are you so interested?" he asked me calmly. "Are you planning on getting revenge?"

"If you think you know anything about me, then you shouldn't even have to ask," I said darkly, baring my teeth. "Revenge is something I'm very good at."

Reinhardt nodded silently. Finally, he said, "I don't know very much about them. I've just heard the same rumors that you have. That they're a splinter cult of Nord berserkers who worship werewolves."

"But you don't believe that."

"I've lived on this island for some time," Reinhardt said. "And this group came out of nowhere. If they are Nords, then they must have come directly from Skyrim, because they are not from any of the villages on Solstheim."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Yes, I'm certain. How many men do you think it must have taken to defeat all these soldiers? Thirty or forty men at least? If that many Nords had abandoned their villages to join this werewolf cult, I certainly would have heard of it."

"Okay," I said. "What's the closest Nord village from here?"

"Thirsk, I guess. Half a day from here."

"You have to take me there."

"Why?"

"Because we need help," I said. "And I have to see it for myself. I need to know that the Nords were not involved in this."

"I guess that makes sense," Reinhardt said. "I can take you there tomorrow morning."

"We should leave right now."

"Even I'm not foolish enough to travel through the woods in the middle of the night," Reinhardt advised. "You'll find things a lot more dangerous than berserkers. Besides, I think both of us need to get some sleep."

He waited a few moments, and then, sensing that our conversation had come to a close, bid me good night and walked away. I stayed outside by myself for some time longer, staring out into the wilderness, letting my anger and frustration slowly fade away. The cold seeped into my bones, strengthening them, empowering me, like some kind of ice ward spell.

I wondered if maybe I should have left on the supply ship after all. I could have been long gone by now, and not gotten involved in any of this.

But something sinister was happening on Solstheim. And now that I was stuck right in the middle of all this chaos, I was not going anywhere until I reached the bottom of it. Although my motivations were blurry, even to me. Was I taking a side in this? What was I trying to accomplish? Was I looking out for the interests of the Nords on Solstheim, or was I just trying to get revenge after all?

I would figure it out later. Motivations aside, my goals were the same. Figure out who had attacked the fort, and then kill them.


	16. Chapter 16

16

The next morning, I walked out into the desolate courtyard, wrapped in a thick, hooded fur jacket, with a pack of supplies over my shoulder. The early morning sun cast a yellowish glow across the fort, giving me my first daylight view of the damage. The remains of the command office were like the blackened bones of some defeated giant, a smoking monument to so many deaths. The rest of the fort bore varying levels of damage, from crumbled walls to charred stone. It would have to be extensively repaired if it was to ever serve as an Imperial fort again.

Liman approached me, lines of exhaustion etched into his face. He had changed clothes at least, and no longer wore his bloody white cook's uniform.

"Thank you for staying guard so late last night," he said wearily. "I didn't get very much sleep. I've been up since before sunrise."

"Have you managed to contact the Legion?"

"Yes, we sent a messenger bird. I told them of the attack and requested more soldiers as soon as possible. I didn't know what else to say."

"That's enough. They should respond right away. If they hurry, they might be here in just a few days."

"I hope so. I don't know how long we can hold out here."

"I think we'll be okay for now," I said, trying to sound supportive. "We have enough food to last, and Reinhardt said all the wounded are going to be okay."

"But ... what if they attack us again?" Liman asked.

I could not think of an easy lie, so I just shrugged uncertainly. "I don't think they'll bother to attack us again. No one here is a threat to them." It was not very convincing, but it was all I could come up with. The truth was that if the fort was attacked in force again, everyone here would be killed. If an entire regiment of Imperial Legion troops could not fend off an attack, what hope did the rest of us have?

The other survivors had been busy already this morning, taking care of the undesirable job of burying the dead. There were too many bodies and not enough survivors, so the work would take much of the day, and I was very glad not to be a part of it. Thankfully, no one asked me. The ground was not frozen solid, but it was still very hard because of the cold, so digging the graves would be difficult, back-breaking labor, and frankly, I was not suited for it.

But right now, what else could they do?

I found Gaea outside the fort walls, walking along the edge of the tree line. She had a noticeable limp, but did not seem to be in any pain. She smiled slightly when she saw me and waved me over.

"I was looking for tracks in the snow," she said when I came close. She pointed toward the rocky ground that surrounded the fort and then gestured to the south. "There are some tracks here, but none of them lead into the woods. It almost looks like they came along the shore and then circled around this way to attack the fort from the north."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense," I said, looking at the tracks. "You'd think they would have gone around and attacked the south side of the fort."

"Yeah, the guards would not watch that side as closely because it faces the sea."

Together, we walked along the perimeter of the fort, trying to make sense of the scattered tracks. Some areas did not have snow, so it was hard to make an accurate guess about what direction they had been going. But it seemed to me that Gaea was right; the attackers had originally come from the south and moved around the fort to deliberately attack it from the better-protected north side.

"I guess you're in charge here now," I said as we headed back toward the fort.

"Seems that way," Gaea said morosely.

"You could have been here when it happened," I reminded her. "We both could have been here. If we hadn't been sent to Raven Rock, I think we'd both be dead right now."

Gaea nodded and then chuckled cryptically. "It's ironic, really. We were sent to the mine to warn _them _about a possible attack. And it turns out the attack was actually right here. Pretty terrible coincidence. Captain Carius must have gotten some warning about an attack and just assumed it was directed at Raven Rock."

I must have paled a bit at the mention of Falx, and Gaea quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, Sasha."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," I said.

When we made it back to the fort, Gaea frowned when she saw two of the Imperial Cultists carefully trying to pick their way through the ashes of the command office.

"We have some bad work to be done today," she said softly, as if to herself.

We didn't even know how many bodies were buried in the ashes. Retrieving the bodies and burying them would be a dirty, painful, sickening job. Identifying the remains would likely be impossible, and many of the remains would never be recovered at all, having been completely incinerated in the blaze.

"Reinhardt Red-Spear and I are going to one of the Nord villages," I told her. "We need to know who's responsible for this."

"Some of the others are already saying that the Nords did it," Gaea sighed. "That we should attack them and burn their villages as soon as the reinforcements arrive."

"I was afraid of that. You don't agree with them, do you?"

Gaea shook her head. "I don't think the regular Nords had anything to do with it. We haven't had any problems with them the entire time I've been stationed here. But I've heard rumors about that cult of werewolf worshipers. And Liman said that the people who did this wore wolf skins, so it must have been them."

"That's what me and Reinhardt are going to figure out."

"Listen, Sasha," Gaea said, lowering her voice. "Be careful around Red-Spear. I know he helped us yesterday. I mean, he probably saved my life. But I don't think you should trust him. Something about him just ... doesn't sit right with me."

I nodded. "I know what you mean."

"He showed up here at fort pretty often, and he always seemed to make a point of remembering everyone's name. I always had the feeling he was spying on us or something. I don't think Carius trusted him either, but we didn't have any real evidence against him. I just think you should be careful around him."

"I will," I promised. "Reinhardt's hiding something, but I don't have any idea what it could be. Like you said, he was a huge help for us yesterday, and he killed one of the berserkers who attacked us. So he can't be working with them. But he knows more than he's letting on."

"Yes, that's exactly how I feel about him."

Just then, Reinhardt Red-Spear seemed to materialize in the courtyard, as if our conversation had conjured him. He walked over to us, wrapping a strip of cloth around his hair to tie it in a ponytail. His longsword was strapped to his back, and he had several small pouches hanging from his thick leather belt.

"Good morning," he said somewhat gruffly. "Did you tell Gaea?"

"I just did. We can leave whenever you want."

"As soon as possible, I guess. Although I would rather stay here and help out."

"We'll be fine," Gaea said. "You helped us more than enough last night. All we have to do now is bury our dead. Sasha thinks that going to the Nords will help us learn who's responsible for this, and I agree with her."

"We may learn something," Reinhardt agreed. He tightened the cloth and brushed his hair over his shoulder, looking through the gate to the woods beyond. "But it would be prudent to have as many people here at the fort as possible. It seems selfish to leave when there is so much work to be done."

"We need to tell the Nords about what happened," I said. "Because when the Legion reinforcements arrive here in a few days, they're going to be looking for some payback. At the very least, we need to give the Nords the opportunity to tell us that they're innocent. "

Reinhardt hadn't thought of that. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded. "Yes, you have a point there."

"You should get ready," Gaea advised. "I'll help you pack some supplies. We don't have much to spare, but you'll need all the help you can get."

"I'll go get us some warmer clothes and maybe some more weapons," Reinhardt said, and headed off towards the guard's quarters. I had the distinct feeling that he had deliberately left us because he suspected we had been talking about him.

"Come on," Gaea said. "I know Red-Spear knows the way, but you better have a map with you, just in case."

We went to the Cult offices and Gaea helped get me a map of Solstheim, as well as some other supplies. As we were leaving the building, one of the Cult members approached us hesitantly, looking downcast, as if unwilling to look us in the eyes. I recognized him as the amateur spellcaster who had used restoration spells on the wounded the night before.

He was a lanky man with closely-cropped hair and a somewhat wizened, thin-lipped appearance, although that may have been due to the trauma he had suffered through in the past day. His brown Cult robe was dirty and smeared with ash, and I saw dirt caked under his fingernails when his hands poked out of his large sleeves.

"Excuse me," he said in a tired voice. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you, but I heard you say that you're traveling north?"

"Yes," I said. "I think the Nords might be able to give us some information about who attacked us last night."

The Cult member nodded and shrugged meekly. "I know this might not be the most appropriate time to ask about this. I mean, there is so much suffering right now. It's selfish of me to even ask, but can you do something for me?"

Curiosity got the best of me, so I answered, "What is it?"

"It's my fiance," he said. "She went north several weeks ago to do some missionary work among the Nords. It's part of our work in the Cult, you know. She was supposed to return a few days ago, but I haven't received word from her in some time. If you visit some of the villages, can you maybe ask around about her?"

"Sure I can," I said, feeling sorry for him. The Imperial Cult, for all its faults, does at least attempt to foster positive behavior in its followers, so I could see how it bothered him to ask such a favor. Especially at a time like this, it seemed self-centered for him to worry about his fiance when so many people had died. But it cost me nothing to help him out, so I agreed to it.

"Thank you," he said with a relieved sigh, a weary smile momentarily flashing on his face. "Thank you so much. My name is Jeleen, by the way, and my fiance's name is Mirisa. She is a Redguard, and she is perhaps only a couple years older than you are, but much taller. Maybe the Nords have seen her or know where she is."

"I'll keep an eye out," I promised.

Gaea and I left the Cult offices and headed for the guards' quarters. As we walked, Gaea said, "Jeleen should consider himself lucky that his girlfriend hasn't returned to the fort yet. If she had been here last night, she could have been killed."

"You're right, but it doesn't hurt to agree to help him. I probably won't run into her anyway, so it doesn't matter. We're not going to every village, we're just going to Thirsk."

Half an hour later, Reinhardt and I were both ready for the trek north. Reinhardt donned a backpack with some food, a few medical supplies, and some oil flasks and flint to start fires with. He unhooked his sword scabbard and fastened it to his belt so he could walk with his hand upon the hilt. We both wore thick fur-lined parkas with gloves and heavy boots. My own sword hung at my hip, and I had six knives concealed on my person. In addition to our map and some money, I also carried a short bow and had a small quiver of arrows on my back, even though I was long out of practice with a bow. Reinhardt claimed to be a terrible archer, but he felt that one of us should carry a ranged weapon, just in case, so the responsibility fell to me. Thus armed and supplied, we left the fort.

As we headed up the hill and into the trees, Reinhardt turned to me and said conversationally, "At least you and I will have some time to talk privately, without anyone around to listen in on us."

"Yes," I said. "We have lots to talk about."


	17. Chapter 17

17

"I guess my first question would be: Why aren't you in prison?"

We had been walking for almost an hour, making small talk about our mission and what might happen at the fort while we were gone, before Reinhardt finally got around to interrogating me. I praised him for his patience, and took my time answering as we crested the next hill and walked down into a snowy valley.

The tall fir trees towered over us, their branches weighed down with snow. For every foot of elevation we climbed, there seemed to be another two inches of snow on the ground, and I wondered if we should have brought snow shoes with us. Fortunately, Reinhardt seemed to know a narrow path along the edge of the ridge, where the blowing wind kept the snow from piling up, so we rarely had to walk through snow deeper than the top of our boots. And although the sun shining down on us felt warm, I knew that as soon as night fell, the temperatures out here would drop well below freezing.

"I'm sorry," I said absentmindedly. "Did you say something?"

"Yes," Reinhardt said. "How did you get out of prison?"

I shrugged. "They let me go."

"I find that pretty hard to believe."

"Doesn't make it any less true," I said. I took a deep breath and exhaled steam, looking at the low mountain peaks just north of us. The brisk walk, the bright blue sky, and the cold wind lifted my spirits a little.

"They just opened up your cell one day and set you free?" Reinhardt asked. "Maybe if you were a pickpocket or a vagrant, I might believe you. But I'm pretty sure that they don't let enemies of the empire just walk away from a lifetime prison sentence for no reason."

"They had a reason," I explained vaguely, "although I have to admit I don't understand it. They dropped me off in Vvardenfell and told me to deliver a package to someone, and then sent me on my way. I think some wealthy nobleman intended to use me as a pawn in some political game. That's the only thing I can think of."

"Well, if you had escaped from prison, you certainly wouldn't have wound up here on Solstheim, so I guess I have to believe you. You were imprisoned in Cyrodiil, correct?"

I nodded. "For three years."

"Well, I hope you delivered the package, at least."

"I certainly did. Right into a garbage can the moment I was out of sight. I have no desire to be an errand girl for a bunch of Morrowind bureaucrats."

Reinhardt laughed softly at that. For a few moments, the only sound was our boots crunching through the snow and the clink of Reinhardt's scabbard bouncing against his thigh.

"So how did you know?" I asked.

"How did I know what?"

"Who I was."

It was Reinhardt's turn to shrug and act vague. "Lucky guess, I suppose," he said, rubbing his chin with a gloved hand. "A young Nord woman named Sasha, good with a sword, about the right age, claims to be from Skyrim, but mysterious about her background. I honestly didn't know for sure until you reacted so clearly to the name Snow-Crown. Even then, I almost didn't believe it."

"So what convinced you?"

"The fight with those berserkers yesterday. The throwing knives."

I nodded, annoyed at myself for being obvious about it. Falling into my old habits would only make it easier for someone like Reinhardt to figure out who I was. Accuracy with throwing knives was a rare ability, so my skills would be noticed.

"Well, thanks for not telling anyone at the fort," I said.

"You're welcome. Did you think I was going to?"

"I don't know. You might have figured they would reward you for giving them valuable information like that."

"Don't you trust me?"

"There's trust, and then there's trust," I said. "There are very few people that I really trust. No offense, but so far you aren't one of them. Besides," I added bitterly, "I've trusted the wrong people before, and I paid the price for it."

"I've heard the story about what happened," Reinhardt said. "So it's true that one of your own men turned traitor, and that's how you got captured?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Can I ask you another question?" Reinhardt said.

"I guess."

"You told me that were trying to head back to Skyrim. You weren't planning on going back to your old ways, were you?"

I shook my head. "No, that part of my life is over. I just wanted to go home."

"Okay, good," Reinhardt said, visibly relieved. "I was afraid you were planning to go to war again."

"No," I said, looking out into the distance. "It was always my father's war, not mine. I fought the war for him. But I don't have to do that anymore. My father is dead."


	18. Chapter 18

18

The village of Thirsk lay in a narrow valley across the ridge from a frozen lake a few miles from the eastern shore of Solstheim. It was nestled in a clearing surrounded by dense fir trees, and I was certain that without Reinhardt to act as my guide, I would never have found the place. There were only about two dozen buildings, most of them one- or two-room family houses. From our vantage point up on a hill to the south of the village, I could see what appeared to be a blacksmith shop and one large building that had to be the village mead hall. Thin wisps of white smoke drifted into the gray sky from two large chimneys.

"Welcome to Thirsk," Reinhardt said, not sounding excited about it.

"I was expecting a larger community," I said.

"You asked me to take you to the nearest village," Reinhardt explained. "This is it. The other villages on the north side of the island are much larger."

"Okay, let's go on then."

I hefted my backpack up, which had begun to slip, making my shoulders ache. I was tired and hungry from the long trek north, but I was in good spirits. However, I was glad to finally be here, and looked forward to taking a seat at a warm fire and maybe getting some hot food. I began to walk down the snowy slope toward the village, but Reinhardt did not follow me. Instead, he remained at the top of the ridge, looking uncertainly down at the village.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"I think maybe you should go down there by yourself."

"What are you talking about?"

Reinhardt sighed and stamped his feet into the snow a few times. "Remember when we talked about trust a little while ago? Well, as it turns out, the people of Thirsk don't trust me either. It would be best if I stayed up here and waited for you."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I didn't think it mattered. You wanted me to take you here, so here we are. I never said I could enter the village with you."

I turned away from Reinhardt and shook my head, chuckling to myself in disappointment at the situation. "Why don't they trust you? Or do I want to know?"

"They think I'm an Imperial spy," Reinhardt said after a pause. "They think I'm secretly working for the Legion because I go to the fort so often."

"That's funny, since most of the guards at the fort think you're a spy for the Nords. What's it like to be distrusted by everyone?"

"Kind of frustrating, actually."

I looked back down to the village and wondered if the people in Thirsk knew something that I didn't. It bothered me that Reinhardt had not told me ahead of time, but he was right that it really didn't matter, since I wanted to talk to these people anyway. Maybe while I was there, they could give me some more information about him.

"You sure you want to stay here?" I asked.

He nodded, although he clearly wasn't happy with the arrangement. "It's probably better if I do. If I go with you, they won't believe anything you tell them."

"Well, is there anything I should know before I talk to them? Are they friendly toward the Legion at all? Will they listen to what I have to say?"

"Their clan chief is a man named Skjoldr Wolf-Runner, and he's a hard one to deal with, but he's not a fool. If he thinks that Thirsk might actually be in danger, then he'll probably agree to help us. I think he's a good man, but he's very stubborn. If you can talk to his wife Svenja, you might have more success."

"All right, I'll keep that in mind."

I headed down the hill, walking through snow that went up to my shins and reached my knees in some places. It was very cold outside, but I was fairly warm from the long walk. I used to walk miles through snow like this, and became accustomed to it quickly. As I reached the edge of the village, I pulled down my hood so that any of the villagers could get a better look at me if they wanted to. I didn't want to seem like I was trying to hide anything, and I made sure to keep my hands in my jacket pockets or holding onto the straps of my backpack, keeping them far from the handle of my blade.

This was the first real Nord community I had entered since my release from prison, and I had conflicted emotions about it. I felt at home, but at the same time I felt like an outsider. Solstheim, despite its similarities, was not Skyrim, and the Nords here were not the same as the people I grew up with. There were distinct differences between the different Nord territories, although a foreigner would not have noticed them. The Nords from Solstheim were more insular, more traditional, and more resistant to change than the Nords of the mainland.

Grilda, the Nord woman who worked at the fort and was killed in the attack, had told me some of this. But each separate village reacted differently to outsiders. It usually depended heavily on the disposition of the clan chief.

I passed by a pair of small houses and continued into the central area of the village. Most of the snow here had been stamped down by people walking around, and the snow mixed with frozen bits of mud. Another building lay in between two tall trees. Two deer were hanging from a line between the trees, their stomachs cut open and the innards removed. The snow underneath them was smeared red with blood, and red footprints went back and forth from the building's main door, which was wide open.

A man wielding a large cleaver appeared from the front door, wearing a brownish apron that was also smeared with blood. He didn't notice me at first and flinched suddenly, startled at my unexpected appearance.

"Oh, you gave me a start," he said, peering at me with cold gray eyes. He had long blonde hair streaked with gray, and a full beard.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. My name is Marya Cold-Spring," I lied, having thought up a new alias earlier. "I'm not from here, but I need to speak to your clan chief. I have important information for him."

"Come from the fort then, have you?"

"I was at the Legion fort recently, yes. But I'm not an Imperial."

"I can see that," the man said, thinking it over. He brushed frost from his beard with his free hand, and then pointed toward the mead hall with his cleaver.

"Our chief is Skjoldr Wolf-Runner. You can find him in the mead hall there. You should be able to talk to him, I don't think he's busy right now."

"Thank you very much," I said politely.

"You're welcome. We don't get folks from the fort much around here. We leave them alone and they leave us alone, you might say," the man said as he walked toward the two deer. He began to chop away as I walked off toward the mead hall.

I saw two young men chopping wood, who stopped their work to watch me as I went to the front doors of the mead hall. As I approached, I could hear people talking and laughing inside, and I could smell cooking food, which made my stomach rumble.

The mead hall was always the largest building in any Nord community, and usually contained a large town hall and gathering area, with seats and tables for most of the villagers, as well as a large kitchen to serve their meals. Many Nords spent the majority of their free time in the mead hall, where they could tell stories, play music, and discuss current events, as well as drink mead and socialize. The mead hall was also typically the home of the clan chief and the location of his traditional village throne.

The mead hall in Thirsk was relatively small, but it was a small village. However, even a small mead hall like this one was still two stories high, the front half containing the town hall, and the rear half housing the large kitchen on the main floor, and single rooms up on the second floor for villagers to stay in if they didn't have their own house, which many did not. This one also probably had a basement, where their armory was held, and perhaps prison cells, although that was more rare. Nords typically did not imprison their criminals; they either banished them or executed them outright.

I pushed open the main door and a wave of hot, smoky air rushed past me, making me shiver. Gratefully, I stepped inside the warmth of the mead hall, letting it soak into me, draining away the lingering cold. Smoke from a couple of small cooking fires drifted up to the holes in the ceiling where the chimneys were, giving the air a hazy look.

There were people everywhere, sitting around and talking, or wandering around with cups in their hands. Men and women, adults and children. Most of them dressed in simple leather tunics and pants, although some of the men wore fur, and I spied chain mail on a few of them, probably the village warriors or the chief's guards.

A few of them noticed me in the doorway, but to my relief, most of them did not seem to mind. I saw a woman sitting in a man's lap at the closest table, but they only looked at me for a few moments before returning to their previous activity. Far across the room, I could see the chief's throne and the man seated there.

"Who are you?" a young man said, coming toward me. He wore a fur cloak, and the handle of a longsword stuck out over his shoulder.

"I would like to speak with your chief," I said. "I have important information for him."

"What village are you from?"

"I'm not from Solstheim. I've actually come from the Legion fort."

"Ah," the man said with a sideways glance at me. "Come on then, might as well get this over with."

He led me through the hall, and people moved out of the way for us as we approached the chief, who lounged comfortably in his throne, talking lazily with two women standing nearby. A few more guards stood at attention behind him, hands on the hilts of their swords.

Skjoldr Wolf-Runner was in middle age, but seemed healthy and fit, with wide shoulders and strong hands. I had seen many clan chiefs with bulging bellies from years of gluttony and laziness, but Wolf-Runner was clearly not such a leader. He wore a thick fur vest, leather breeches, and large fur boots as well as fur bracers, his arms otherwise bare to show off his muscled biceps. A long sword was propped up beside his throne, within easy reach.

He turned to glance at me. He had a scraggly beard with streaks of gray, and his long blonde hair was tied into several knotted braids. He had a prominent brow and a flat nose, with penetrating blue eyes. It was easy to see why the village chose him as their clan chief, he was a very intimidating man.

"Chief Wolf-Runner," I greeted him, bowing a little. "My name is Marya Cold-Spring and I have some information for you."

Skjoldr glanced steadily at the man who had brought me over, and then gave him a short gesture, and then man promptly departed. The two women who had been talking to the Chief also made themselves scarce. The guards, however, remained.

"And I welcome you to the warmth of my home" he asked gruffly, giving me a common Nord greeting, although he didn't sound sincere about it. "The name Cold-Spring is not known in this area. You are an outsider?"

"I grew up in Skyrim," I said honestly. "But I have traveled across many lands in my time. I arrived on Solstheim not long ago. I've been staying at the Legion fort."

Skjoldr studied me carefully with his intense blue eyes for several moments, as if trying to detect a lie. "The Legion is no friend to us," he said. "But we tolerate their presence in our lands. Why have they sent you here?"

"They haven't, not exactly."

"Explain yourself."

I looked at the impassive faces of his guards and said carefully, "The Legion fort was attacked yesterday. A large group of men wearing wolf skins attacked it and killed many of the soldiers stationed there. They left only a few survivors."

"Truly?" Skjoldr said in surprise. He leaned back in his throne, a genuinely stunned expression on his face, and then he broke out in a smile and chuckled to himself. "Perhaps the Legion is not so strong as it believes, if a gang of untrained thugs can do so much damage. It seems they can't even defend themselves against wild dogs."

Skjoldr laughed and his men laughed with him. I didn't blame them for that, since once upon a time, I would have laughed as well. So I kept my expression neutral, lest Skjoldr think that I disapproved of his amusement.

He leaned forward, a rough smile on his face. "I thank you for bringing me this news, Marya Cold-Spring. It has brightened my day."

"I didn't only come here to tell you that," I said. "You should know that the Legion suspects that the men who attacked the fort were Nords. Right now, they are sending for more men from Morrowind. When those men arrive, they will seek to get revenge."

"Let them get their revenge. Why should that concern us? We did not attack them. We have signed a treaty with their commander."

"Their commander is dead," I said, feeling a lump in my throat. "And any agreements you had died with him. The Legion thinks the Nords are responsible, and they will seek revenge from anyone they can. This village is the closest village to the fort, so your people will be the first ones in danger should the Legion come north looking for their vengeance."

Skjoldr's face darkened. "Are you saying that the Legion will break their treaty and attack the Nords of Solstheim?"

"I am alerting you to the possibility," I said. "Unless you can give them assurances that you were not involved, I fear they may do such a thing. I came here to warn you, and to ask for your help."

"Help?" Skjoldr scoffed, slouching back in his throne. "Why should we help the Legion, if they plan to attack us?"

"If you could tell me where to find the ones who are responsible for the attack, then this danger may be averted. We need to know where to find the Nords who dress in wolf skins. I've heard that it may be a cult of werewolf worshipers."

"They are not Nords," Skjoldr spat. "And they are no cult, they are just common criminals."

"Do you know where can I find them?"

"No," Skjoldr said bitterly. "Somewhere on the west side of the island, or up in the mountains."

"Okay," I said. "I will do my best to convince them that the Nords here are not responsible for the attack. But they might not listen to me, since I am also a Nord."

"If they will not listen to an outsider like you," Skjoldr said, "then they will not listen to me either. So why bother to protest our innocence, if we will only be ignored?"

Skjoldr reached out and took hold of his longsword. Leaning back in the throne, he set the blade on the armrests so that it sat horizontally in front of him, holding the hilt of the sword in his strong fist.

"If the Legion dares to attack Thirsk, or any other village, then they will invite total war from all the Nords on Solstheim. If they would risk such a thing, then let them. We will fight them and we will defeat them. We have tolerated their presence on our lands long enough."

"I wish to prevent war," I said, feeling desperation creep up on me. "A war with the Legion will solve nothing. If you could help us discover the identity of the criminals who attacked the fort, then there would be no need for war."

Skjoldr looked down at me with a forceful stare. I didn't see anger in his face, or hatred, although I'm sure it was there, lurking underneath the surface. There was only pride in his cold stare. Pride and determination, and the stubbornness of a man who would rather fight his enemy to the death than ever try to help them.

"If there is to be war," Skjoldr said darkly, his voice as cold as ice, "we are not the ones who will start it."

And that was the end of the conversation. I knew if I tried to continue trying to persuade him, it would only make him angry at me. So I took a breath and bowed once more.

"Thank you for your time, Chief."

I turned and walked away, feeling dejected and disappointed. At the very least, I had succeeded in informing him of the danger, and he had supported my suspicions that the werewolf cult was not made up of Nords but actually was a group of criminals. So the meeting was not entire waste.

But I had truly hoped he would be willing to help me, by giving me more information or at least pointing me in the direction of someone who could. Instead, as I had feared, he had taken my warning as an implied threat. Now, instead of trying to help or attempting to defuse the situation, he would prepare for the worst and allow his concealed hatred for the Legion sway his every decision.

I knew how he felt, and I had seen many men make those same decisions. And the worst thing was that, at the heart of the matter, Skjoldr was absolutely right. After all, if the Legion attacked the Nords without evidence that they were actually responsible, then they were the aggressor, and the Nords had every right to defend themselves.

But I also knew how that kind of thinking could warp logic. Right now, Skjoldr was thinking that the Legion was at fault and the Nords were perfectly justified in their actions. But such thoughts could easily be twisted. Soon, Skjoldr might feel that the only proper course of action was to attack the Legion now, as a preemptive strike, before the Legion had time to build up their forces. The attack would be justified in his own mind, since he believed the Legion intended to attack him anyway, then his actions were still justified.

I had seen it happen before. The Nords of Solstheim might very well attack the Legion first while believing that they were only defending themselves. And if they attacked first, then any chance of the Legion doing the right thing would evaporate. And without some kind of way to convince the Legion that the Nords were not to blame, then the Legion would probably go ahead and attack the Nords anyway. In either case, Solstheim would be embroiled in a war, and the Nords would end up on the losing side. I almost felt as if my life was repeating itself.

I trudged out of the mead hall, ignoring the curious looks of the people around me, and pushed the door open. A wall of cold air greeted me as I walked out into the opening, my arms hanging at my sides, and my head hanging down in defeat.

Well, I had tried. Maybe we would get lucky and discover the hiding place of the fake cult in time. Skjoldr suggested they were on the west side of the island or in the mountains. That was a huge area to cover, but it was the only hint we had so far. Of course, someone in another village might have more information as well.

I walked along the side of the mead hall and headed back to where Reinhardt was waiting for me.


	19. Chapter 19

19

"Stop, please," a voice said from behind me.

I turned quickly, hand on my sword, half-expecting some kind of attack.

But the woman who faced me was alone and unarmed. She wore a grayish dress and large fur boots, and a thick fur cloak was over her shoulders. Her sharp, proud face was lined with age and her long brown hair was streaked with gray, but she was strong and attractive for her age. One hand clutched a gemstone hanging from a beaded string hanging around her neck.

"What do you want?" I asked warily.

"Listen," the woman said, coming forward and speaking in a low voice. "You can take that stupid woman with you. I know where she is, and you can just take her and go, okay? Just leave and don't come back."

I lowered my hand from the sword. "What are you talking about? I don't know any women here."

"Well, you must be looking for her."

"I'm not looking for anyone," I said, shaking my head. "I came from the Imperial fort to warn your clan chief that the Legion thinks the Nords might be responsible for the attack."

"We didn't attack her," the woman snapped defensively. "She came here causing all sorts of trouble, and –"

"The fort was attacked yesterday," I said firmly, "and a lot of their men were killed. The Legion might come here looking for revenge. That's all I came here to tell you."

"And what about the woman?"

"What woman?" I asked again. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"The cultist!" the woman snapped exasperatedly, as if I was some kind of idiot. "The one from the fort! They must know she's missing by now. Do you mean to tell me you don't even know she's here?"

I shook my head again in frustration. "I don't have a clue who you ..."

But my words trailed off as I realized that I did know who she was talking about. In fact, I had even promised that I would look for her, although I never would have suspected she was in Thirsk. It was the Imperial Cult woman named Mirisa. Her fiance Jeleen had told me about her before I left the fort.

My eyes narrowed as I regarded the Nord woman in front of me. "Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Svenja Snow-Song."

"You're Wolf-Runner's wife."

She pursed her lips and nodded curtly. "Yes, I am. And he does not know that I am here helping you."

"Is that what you're doing? Helping me?"

"I will show you where your Imperial woman is, and then you can take her and just leave, okay? I don't want her here. She stuck her nose in our lives and now she's suffering for it. I just want her out of here."

"Show me where she is."

Svenja led me back to the mead hall and through a doorway in the rear of the building. There was no one guarding the rear entrance, and I suspected that Svenja had dismissed them before coming to me, so that no one would see me go inside. The doorway led to a narrow entrance hall with some benches, but no one was there either. Svenja glanced back at me without speaking and led me up a staircase just to the right of the doorway.

I put my hand on my sword, still expecting some kind of trick. Svenja looked back at me and frowned, suspicion and annoyance flashing across her face. The stairs creaked as we ascended, and clumped snow fell from our boots, leaving wet footprints behind us.

When we reached the top of the stairs, Svenja went first to see if anyone was there. She quickly waved me over and led me down a cramped hallway that led to some rooms that I guessed were living quarters.

"Here," Svenja said, opening a door and peeking inside. "She's in here. Now just take her and get out of here before anyone sees us."

I steeled myself for the worst and stepped into the room. The place was a mess, with dirty furs all over the floor and wooden cups and other objects scattered everywhere. There was a bed and a table and no other furniture.

Mirisa was in the corner, looking up at me with pleading, desperate eyes. Her hands and feet were tied and there was a gag in her mouth. Her dark red Cult robe was tattered and ripped, and her face was streaked with tears.

I drew a knife and went over to her, quickly slashing the ropes. I pulled out her gag and she immediately began sobbing, reaching out for me. Tossing the bindings aside, I grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet, practically dragging her out of the room as she sobbed and whimpered, covering her face with her hands.

"Thank you, thank the Nines, I was so scared. Thank you, thank you. Please help me, I've been here for days. I thought he was going to kill me, but I prayed, I prayed. Thank the Nines, thank you so much."

Svenja stared at me coldly, as if all of this was my fault. I pulled Mirisa into the hallway and she clutched me like a lifeline. Svenja gestured back the way we had come. "Go that way and get out of here."

I let go of Mirisa and she fumbled after me, but I pushed her away. I went up to Svenja and glared at her until she was forced to look away.

"Who did this?" I asked, barely able to keep my voice in check.

"Just get out of here," Svenja said. "She's alive, so just take her back to her people and leave me out of it."

"I asked you a question," I growled, and jumped at her to latch my hand across her throat. She yelped in surprise, but her cry died in her throat as I pushed her back until she slammed against the wall. She clawed at me, eyes wide open in fright, but she froze when I pulled my sword free of the scabbard with my other hand.

"You wouldn't dare ..." she choked out, staring in shock at the sword.

I leaned in until we were face to face. Looking into my eyes, her resistance seemed to wither away, and she shrunk back, holding her hands in front of her face. She trembled slightly, forcing herself to look away.

"Who did this?" I asked again.

"It was Erich Stag-Horn," Svenja managed to say. "One of my husband's warriors."

"And where can I find him?"

"Down in the hall. Through that door."

I pushed Svenja away and stalked back down the hall toward the door at the other end, past Mirisa, who had slumped to the floor, her legs folded under her. She grabbed at my jacket desperately and tried to pull me back.

"No, please," she sobbed. "Please, you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do," I said.

Svenja, regaining some of her dignity and composure, stood defiantly at the other end of the hallway, wrapping her fur cloak tightly around her. She looked back at me and shook her head in a gesture of pity and disappointment.

"Stag-Horn is one of the strongest fighters we have," she said. "If you try to confront him, I promise that he will kill you."

I turned to look back at her, and even across the hall, the look in my eyes made her step back in self-defense.

"I'm sure he'll try," I said, and then I went through the door.


	20. Chapter 20

20

The door led to a short, open hallway and down a wide set of stairs. The main section of the mead hall was below. As before, the place was full of cooking smoke and the smell of food, and the sounds of laughter and talking greeted me as I stepped to the top the stairs and looked down at the gathered crowd below. Wolf-Runner's throne was below me and to my left, and the main door was far across the hall on the other side.

My heart beat in my chest so loud it was deafening, and I squeezed the handle of my sword so hard that my fingers were white and my arm throbbed. I could feel it building inside me, a sensation I had not felt for years. Even when Gaea and I had been attacked in the woods, I had not felt the overwhelming rush of a berserker fury, because it had been too sudden and I had only been defending myself. But now, the rage and the anger was boiling inside of me, and my vision seemed like it was tinted red. Finding Mirisa like that had pushed me over the edge.

I stood on the top stair and looked out among the crowd of Nords, trying to scan the crowd, as if I could identify my target without knowing him.

"Erich Stag-Horn!" I screamed.

The entire hall went silent, and every face turned in shock to look up at me. Every man and woman looked at me in disbelief, and among the multitude of faces I saw one man standing among a crowd of guards, the look on his face identifying him for me.

The door behind me banged open and Mirisa tumbled to the floor, reaching out to clutch the railing. She shook her head, face still wet with tears, mouth open to beg me to stop. But when she looked out at the crowd, she went silent and began to shake.

"Stay here," I said, not looking at her.

I descended the stairs, each heavy step down booming out like a crack of thunder. No one spoke, they all just stared. Not just at my face, but at the drawn sword in my hand. Such an act was a great offense, but causing offense was the least of my intentions.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, the Nords gathered around me scattered and moved away as if I had a magical force field around me. Confusion, surprise, fear, disgust, and apprehension moved across their faces, but I ignored all of them. There was only one person in this room that I was interested in.

"Erich Stag-Horn," I said again. "I challenge you. Defend yourself."

The crowd spilled away from me like leaves blown in the wind, opening up the center of the room and revealing Stag-Horn standing by one of the pillars. He was a huge man, larger than Wolf-Runner, with long black hair and a bushy black beard, wearing a sleeveless black fur parka. His deep set eyes regarded me coolly as his hand reached for the longsword at his side.

"This some kind of joke?" he grumbled. "You're nothing but a little girl."

I swung my sword down on the edge of the table nearby and swept off several wooden goblets and plates of food, throwing them in Stag-Horn's face. He swung his arm to the side and knocked away one of the plates, spilled mead dripping from his beard.

"Defend yourself!" I screamed in a rage.

"You little bitch!" he snarled, jumping at me. He swung his longsword in a wide sideways arc and I leaped backward to avoid being cut in half.

People all around us screamed and ran for cover as I lunged at him, swinging my sword in a blur of movement. He brought his blade up and blocked the strike and immediately pushed me back, baring his teeth and sputtering curses. I slashed again and he struck back with the hilt, slamming into my shoulder.

The berserker fury was upon me, taking over control of my body. I seemed to watch the combat from far away, my vision swarming and blood pounding in my veins. Screeching madly, I lunged at him and brought my sword down at him over and over, forcing him to back up. The sound of our blades clanging together was like a blacksmith pounding on an anvil. Stag-Horn bellowed furiously and slashed back at me, his long blade giving him much longer reach, but I was too fast, and easily ducked out of the way, swinging my own sword in a low thrust. He dodged and swung his sword expertly over his head, wielding the huge, heavy blade as if it was as light as air.

I jumped back and his brutal, downward slash cut a chair right in two, the pieces flying as he kicked them aside. I jumped in and slammed my sword against his guard, forcing him back once more. My hair whipped across my face and I spun around to slam into his sword with all the force I could muster.

Stag-Horn staggered back under the assault, grimacing as his sword rattled in his hands, barely able to maintain his defense. I ran in again, attacking him relentlessly, not letting up for even a moment, the berserker fury like an overdose of adrenaline. My sword moved too fast for the eye to follow, and Stag-Horn could not counterattack because my own attacks were too rapid for him to find an opening. It was all he could do just to hold me back, and he shouted angrily, his voice carrying over the din of our clashing blades.

He jumped behind one of the pillars to create some space between us, and the nearby spectators quickly scrambled out of the way. He swung his sword around, hoping to catch me off-guard, but the edge of the blade missed me and I swung down to knock his blade farther down, pushing him off-balance.

He stumbled and tried to bring the longsword back up, but I slashed down again and struck the hilt, my blade cutting right into his hand and severing some of his fingers.

He cried out and the sword clattered to the floor. Backpedaling hurriedly, he fumbled for the long knife hanging from his belt with his good hand, while holding out his bloody, wounded hand in a fearful gesture, shouting, "No! No, stop!"

But I did not stop, I could not stop. I charged in and swung my sword down just as he thrust upward with his knife, hoping to gut me when I was in mid-strike. But I slid away from his outstretched arm and swept my sword across his midsection, cutting open his stomach.

He gurgled dumbly, looking down at the blood spilling down his legs, and the long knife dropped from his hand. His body went limp and he slumped to his knees, quivering hands folding over his ravaged stomach. Eyes glazing over, he lifted his head to look at me, opening his mouth as if to speak. I did not wait for his last words. I stabbed my blade right into his heart.

I don't know how long I stood there. Perhaps it was only a few seconds, but it might have been minutes. As the raging berserker fury wore off, I began to realize my surroundings, and glanced up at the horrified faces of the Nords around me. My chest heaved with ragged breaths, but slowly it returned to normal, my vision clearing, the intense throbbing in my veins receding to a dull ache. The aftereffects of the fury weakened me, and I felt ready to fall asleep on my feet.

Instead, I put one foot against Stag-Horn's chest and yanked out my sword, toppling his body over backwards. Blood splashed to the floor and dripped from the edge of the blade. I returned it to its scabbard without bothering to wipe off the blood.

I could hear the faint traces of whispers around me as I walked away from the body, heading toward the front of the hall where Skjoldr Wolf-Runner was seated.

"... never seen any woman fight like that ..."

"... should have yielded when he had the chance ..."

"... said she was from Skyrim, and I believe her ..."

"... got what he deserved ..."

"... remind me to stay on her good side ..."

"... was a fair fight, but she better watch her back ..."

My whole body felt sore and bruised, but I walked to Wolf-Runner's throne forcefully, trying not to show signs of my weakness. His men gathered around him like a protective swarm, their hands on their swords and just itching to draw them. Wolf-Runner had barely moved from when I had seen him earlier; he sat back comfortably, his longsword resting horizontally on the arms of the throne. He studied me carefully, his face giving away no indication of what he was thinking, although I was sure I could guess. The voices around me died down as I approached the throne.

I stared confidently back at Wolf-Runner, my arms at my sides. His men seemed ready to jump if I so much as lifted my hand, so I remained still.

"By rights, all his possessions now become mine," I said, my voice carrying across the entire hall. "That is the custom in Skyrim. Do you follow the same custom?"

"Yes," Wolf-Runner said calmly, regarding me without a trace of emotion on his face.

I looked up at Mirisa, who gazed down at me in absolute shock.

"Come down here and take his boots and his parka," I said.

Mirisa's eyes opened wide and she shook her head frantically, clutching the stairway railing. "No," she whimpered. "No, I … I can't, I –"

"Do it!" I snapped. "Unless you want to walk back to the fort in your bare feet! Now do what I say!"

She whimpered again, but this time began to slink down the stairs. I hated to yell at her, especially after what she had been through already, but we did not have time to fool around here, and I was not about to turn my back on Wolf-Runner and his men, no matter what customs we shared.

I returned my gaze to him and said, "You knew about her, didn't you? You knew she was up there and you did nothing to protect her."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

He had to be lying and we both knew it, but he wasn't about to admit it and I was not going to push the matter. Behind me, Mirisa ran over to Stag-Horn's dead body and began to pull off his boots.

"He took her captive," I said, staring in Wolf-Runner's eyes. "He abused her against her will. Is that how the men of your village treat outsiders?"

"Erich Stag-Horn was a good warrior," Wolf-Runner said matter-of-factly. "But he was not perfect. His failings are not our failings. If he abused the missionary, then he broke our laws and you have carried out his sentence. You challenged him lawfully and he accepted. You have defeated him, so that settles the matter."

I had to hand it to Wolf-Runner. He might have been a simple clan chief of a small Nord village, but the man knew how to play politics and knew how to say exactly the right thing. He had managed to admit nothing and take no responsibility, while at the same time accepting my version of events and vaguely implying that Stag-Horn might have been guilty. He had defused the situation expertly, without losing face for himself, Stag-Horn, or the village. But he had done so while still validating my actions and essentially telling the entire hall that no one was to blame.

"I am returning to the fort," I said, "and I'm taking Mirisa with me."

"You are free to go."

"But I hope you will stop and consider the offer I made you," I said. "Do the right thing and help the Legion find the criminals who attacked the fort. Because if you don't, they will come here. And when the Legion soldiers come here seeking their revenge, they won't issue a formal challenge when they do it. And they won't give you the chance to yield."


	21. Chapter 21

21

Outside, a gentle snow had begun to fall. Mirisa's feet were far too small for the huge pair of boots, but she stuffed some scraps of fur inside to fill up the space. Stag-Horn's bloody parka was also too big, but she put it on anyway and also wrapped a tattered fur cloak over her shoulders. It wasn't perfect, but it would keep her warm long enough to make it back to the fort.

I took her hand and led her away from the mead hall, back up to the top of the nearby ridge where Reinhardt should be waiting for me. Mirisa said nothing, her slim hand shaking slightly, her eyes fixed on the snow-covered ground in front of her. She had been so grateful to me when I first rescued her, but now it seemed she was afraid of me. I didn't blame her.

We followed my footprints in the snow back up the hill that overlooked the village, but we when got there, Reinhardt was nowhere in sight. The entire area was covered in new tracks and footprints from at least half a dozen people, but I didn't have time to worry about it.

"Reinhardt?" I called out. "Are you there?"

There was no response, and I gritted my teeth in frustration. "Red-Spear! Dammit, where are you?"

Mirisa looked at me helplessly, clutching the front of the oversized parka, and I turned around indecisively, hoping that Reinhardt would show up. He must have run off when the other people arrived, but I wasn't about to go looking for him, and I didn't have time to wait.

I took Mirisa's hand. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

"Why?" she asked wearily.

"They might come after us."

"But I thought that their Chief promised ..."

"He didn't promise me anything," I said. "The man I killed back there probably has friends, and they might try to come after us and get their revenge."

We hurried along the edge of the ridge, following the footprints in the snow that Reinhardt and I had left barely an hour before. Mirisa stumbled a bit in her oversize boots and was breathing heavily with the exertion, but she didn't complain or ask me to stop. She was as anxious as I was to get out of Thirsk and back to the fort.

"Do you ..." she panted for breath, "Do you know the way back?"

"I have a map in my pack," I said. "We can follow the tracks for now. I know the fort is basically south of here, it can't be that hard to find."

"You're a Nord, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Are you from one of the northern villages?"

"No, I'm not from Solstheim at all."

We descended the next ridge and hurried along a patch of open dirt in between some trees. I glanced back over my shoulder to see if anyone was following, but there was no one else. I didn't fully expect that anyone would come after us, but I knew it was a possibility, and I wasn't about to take any chances. I wouldn't feel entirely safe until we were far away from the village.

The sun was already on its way down to the horizon. It had taken Reinhardt and I more than half the day to travel to Thirsk, and now I reckoned we had only an hour or two of daylight left. We would have to find shelter before then, or else we'd probably freeze to death before morning.

We made pretty good time along the top of the rolling ridges, following the tracks as we made our way south. We didn't run into any problems, and after a little while, I decided to slow down and allow Mirisa to catch her breath, confident that we were in no immediate danger.

"Thank you," Mirisa said. She leaned over, setting her hands on her knees, and took in deep breaths. "Thank you again, I mean. For what you did."

"Don't mention it," I muttered. "It was foolish of me. And dangerous."

"But it was right," Mirisa insisted. "That man was evil, he was a monster. He got nothing less than what he deserved."

I looked around the quiet mountain range and clear, blue sky, my breath turning into white clouds. I drew my sword from its sheath and examined the blade. It was still smeared with blood, now dried and flaking. I knelt down and laid the sword in the snow, brushing snow over it and rubbing it to try to wipe off the dried blood. Letting blood dry on the blade would slowly rust the edge and corrode the metal.

I cleaned off as much as I could and then wiped the blade on my pants to dry it off. Sliding it back into its sheath, I said, "Yes, he got what he deserved. But we're lucky that he chose to fight me. Even if he had turned down my challenge, I was going to kill him anyway. And then neither of us would have gotten out of that village alive."

Mirisa shivered a bit and studied me. "I was so scared when you went down there to face him," she said quietly. "I was sure that he was going to kill you. I had no idea that you could fight like that. I've never seen a woman like you wield a sword so perfectly."

"Yeah," I said. "Well, neither did he."

"It's a good thing that they sent you to find me," she added.

"They didn't send me to look for you," I said. "I was in the village for a different reason."

When Mirisa expressed confusion, I explained to her everything that had happened at the fort. I told her of the attack and how most of the guards had been killed, and how so few had survived. I told her about the attackers, the mysterious Nords in wolf skins, and how I had come north to Thirsk to learn for myself if the Nords there had been involved.

"Before I left, your fiance Jeleen told me about you, that's how I knew who you were. I certainly never expected to find you there."

"Jeleen?" she asked hesitantly. "Then he … he survived the attack?"

"Yes," I said. "He's alive and waiting for you."

"Oh, thank the Gods!" she cried out, awash with relief. She clasped her hands and then frowned, shaking her head. "Oh, that's so selfish of me to say that. So many have died, and now I thank the Gods that someone I care about survived."

"Go ahead and be thankful," I said. "It's only natural."

"But the others?" Mirisa asked nervously. "What about Rosnan and Antonius?"

"I'm sorry," I said as gently as I could. "But I think they were all killed. Very few people escaped with their lives."

"And the Nords were responsible? Or some of them were? I can't believe it," she said, shaking her head. "I've traveled among them, doing my missionary work. I would never believe them capable of such an act of war."

"I don't think it was Nords," I explained. "I think they were just dressed up like Nords. They want the Legion to think the Nords were responsible. I can't prove it though."

I rubbed my hands together. The sun was starting to set, and I could already feel it getting colder outside. It would be dark soon, and we had to find shelter before that.

"Come on," I said. "We're not too far from the river. We have to find somewhere to spend the night, and we have to build a fire."

"Yes," Mirisa agreed. "Of course, let's hurry."

We headed downhill and found the Iggnir River right away. Along the shore were boulders and chunks of rock jutting from the frozen ground. On the way to Thirsk, Reinhardt had mentioned that there were numerous rocky outcrops along the shore that could serve as shelters during the night. He had probably expected to use one himself, but I was glad he had mentioned it.

We found a large sheet of rock jutting up out of the ground at a steep angle about fifty feet from the river, with another large boulder beside it. I would have rather found a cave to spend the night in, but this would have to do. I told Mirisa to sweep out as much loose snow as possible while I ran back to the trees to gather up some sticks for firewood.

By the time I got back, the sun was almost below the mountains, and the sky was growing dark. We piled the sticks in front of the slab of rock, just out from underneath the outermost edge, and I used my flint sparker to light a fire. I stuffed my pack into the tight space between the sheet of rock and the other boulder, to prevent any curious animals from trying to sneak in that way.

When the fire was burning nicely, Mirisa and I spent a few minutes warming ourselves before we both went back out to find more wood. It was pitch dark by the time we made it back to our rocky shelter, and we piled the wood inside. Keeping the fire burning would keep any animals at bay, hopefully, and the outcropping of rock contained the heat rather well, making our little shelter cozy and warm despite the freezing temperature.

All we had to do now was keep the fire going and hope that nothing bothered us, and we could move on early the next morning.


	22. Chapter 22

22

The fire crackled and snapped, and tiny burning embers floated upward like fireflies. I leaned back against the rock and sighed, looking up into the night sky. A gentle dusting of snow came down, but the fire kept it at bay. Mirisa, wrapped in the huge parka, huddled close to the flickering flames and removed her oversize boots, setting them to the side and warming her feet by the fire.

"Sorry we don't have anything to eat," I said. "Reinhardt was carrying the food in his pack, but unfortunately, he's not here."

"What do you think happened to him?" Mirisa asked.

"I guess some people from the village saw him and he ran off," I guessed. "He told me that the Nords didn't trust him. Maybe he wasn't welcome there."

"I hope he's okay. He comes by the fort often, and I've spoken to him a few times. He seems very nice, but also strange."

"He's nice and strange all right," I said.

I closed my eyes, but despite my weariness, I did not think I was going to get much sleep this night. We had enough firewood to last for awhile, but I was not sure that it would last all the way until morning. Even with the fire to keep smaller animals at bay, there were much more dangerous things out in the woods to worry about. In fact, our fire might actually attract Nord berserkers or even one of the forest fairies, and that would mean big trouble. I could only hope that we would be left alone until it was bright enough outside for us to leave.

Mirisa set her arms on her knees and then rested her chin upon her arms, watching the fire closely. She seemed calm now, a far cry from the terrified, frantic woman I had rescued from Thirsk. But she had been through a very bad experience, and I knew exactly what she was going through. I didn't know what she was like before she had been taken prisoner, but I knew that it was not the same person that she was now.

"I want to thank you again," she said softly. "For what you did back there. If you had not gone to the village, I don't know what might have happened to me."

She turned to face me. "If there is anything I can ever do to pay you back, I promise I will do it. Jeleen's family has money, I'm sure he would be more than happy to give you a reward for saving me."

I waved her offer away. "I don't need any money, you don't have to do that."

We sat in silence for a moment, the only sound coming from the crackling fire. I kept my eyes out beyond the fire, watching the dark riverbank for any unwanted visitors. Sometimes wolves were known to investigate fires, although they usually stayed far back. If the firewood began to run low and I had to go out for more, I didn't want any surprises.

"However, there is one thing I need you to do," I said. "It's very important, but I think you're not going to like it."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"When we get back to the fort, you can't tell anyone about what happened to you in Thirsk. You have to keep that part a secret."

For a moment, she just stared at me, not understanding. Then, in surprise, she sat up and said, "What are you talking about? Of course I'm going to tell them."

"You're going to tell them that a berserker out in the woods found you and kidnapped you," I said very clearly, looking right at her. "It was not one of Wolf-Runner's warriors in the village. You have to leave that part out. You can tell then everything else, that you were abused and held prisoner in a cave, and that I found you and rescued you."

"Why?" Mirisa asked, raising her voice. "The people in Thirsk knew about what he was doing to me, and they did nothing! Why would I lie to protect them? Why are you even asking me to do that?" She looked hurt and offended, glaring at me distrustfully.

"Because I'm trying to stop a war," I said, my voice hard. "After what happened at the fort, the Legion will look for any reason to sweep through the Nord villages to get their vengeance. I might be able to convince them that the Nords aren't responsible for the attack, but if they hear your story, then anything I tell them will be ignored. They'll wage war to get revenge for what was done to you."

"But they are all guilty," Mirisa insisted. "You can't be saying that we should just … let them get away with it! The man who did this to me–"

"The man who raped you is dead," I snapped. "I killed him. Some of the villagers knew what was going on, but not all of them did. The Legion won't care about that though, they'll punish them all the same. I don't want that entire village burned to the ground because of what one man has done to you."

Mirisa just stared at me, conflicting emotions flashing across her face. "You don't understand," she said finally. "I can't just forget what that man did to me. If you really knew what I've gone through, you wouldn't even ask me to do something like that."

"I spent three years in a Cyrodiil prison," I said. "Trust me, I know exactly what you've gone through."

Mirisa was taken aback, eyes wide open in surprise. "Prison?" she asked. "But the guards in Cyrodiil would not have ..."

"Don't be naive," I said softly, looking away. "The men in Cyrodiil are no more honorable than the men here on Solstheim. A defenseless woman under their authority will bring out the worst in any man, no matter how good they appear to be. And if he has the law behind him, then he can do whatever he wants and get away with it."

Mirisa said nothing, her large eyes glimmering with reflected light from the fire. She wrung her hands anxiously, but she remained silent, looking at me expectantly.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, brushing loose strands out of my face. "Two of the guards raped me while I was in prison," I said, keeping my voice level. "It was during my first year there. Normally there were always two guards on duty, but I guess someone called in sick one day, so the other guard was all by himself. He snuck into my cell when I was asleep, and I don't need to tell you the rest."

"What did you do?" Mirisa asked softly.

"What could I do? Fight him? I didn't have anything on but a dirty tunic, and he was in armor and had a sword. I just laid there and let him do what he wanted."

"But ..." Mirisa seemed at a loss for words. The idea that I could submissively allow someone to have their way with me conflicted with her image of me as a powerful warrior. "You could had told someone, you could have ..."

"Who could I have told? Even if they believed me, which I doubt, they wouldn't have done anything about it. I was a prisoner there, I didn't have any rights."

"But how could you handle it?"

"I knew it was going to happen eventually," I said, looking at the ground. "I expected it to. I didn't have any illusions about how I was going to be treated in prison. So I just steeled myself and mentally prepared myself for the worst. When it happened, I just blocked away the pain and tried not to think about it."

"I don't know how you could do that," Mirisa said, and I wasn't sure if she felt sympathy or contempt for me. "I could never … just let someone do that."

I said nothing for a few moments. I took a stick from the pile of wood and snapped it in my hands before tossing it into the fire.

"I didn't really have a choice," I said. "If I had tried to fight him, he probably would have hurt me. Maybe even killed me, I don't know. I wasn't going to let that happen. I hoped that maybe if I seemed submissive, he would be less careful. Maybe I'd have a chance to get his sword away from him and stick it in his chest."

"You didn't though, did you?"

I shook my head. "No, I never had the chance. He got transferred or something not long after that. They don't keep prison guards there long, they don't want the prisoners getting too familiar with their routine."

Mirisa sighed sadly and continued to look into the fire. "How do you live with what happened?" she asked. "I mean, I'm engaged to be married to Jeleen, but after what that man did to me, I don't know if I can … be intimate with him anymore. I'm just afraid that anyone might hurt me like that again."

I thought back to my one night of passion with Carius. My experiences in prison were a distant memory to me now, and I did not dwell on them. They were beyond my control, and I wasn't going to let them change me. I certainly was not going to let those terrible memories prevent me from being physically attracted to someone, or from loving someone.

"You can't change the past," I said. "But you can't let the past take control of you either, you can't live your life like that. You have to move on."

"Have you moved on?" Mirisa asked.

"Yes," I said. "I've moved on from lots of things."


	23. Chapter 23

23

Morning came without incident. I caught a few hours sleep but woke up as soon as the fire began to die out, an hour or two before sunrise. I gathered more wood and kept the fire going until the sky had brightened enough for us to see by. Mirisa slept more than I did, but by the look on her face, she didn't get very much rest.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

Mirisa blinked and looked out across the snowy hills with bleary eyes. "Hungry," she said. "And my side hurts from sleeping on the ground."

"You want to get going right away?"

"Yes, let's just get out of here," she said with a tired sigh.

I kicked snow over the fire and scattered the glowing embers with my boot until I was sure it was burned out. Mirisa wrapped her oversized parka tightly around herself and walked out toward the river, shivering in the cold breeze. There was no snow today though, and the sky was a clear blue. I put my hand on the hilt of my sword and stepped away from the rocks, and Mirisa turned to say something to me.

But instead, her eyes went wide and she quickly pointed up over my head at the hills farther up the shoreline. "Sasha!" she cried in fright.

I spun around and saw what she was pointing at, and immediately drew my sword, cursing our bad luck. Coming down the hill were six small figures dressed in ratty furs and wielding short swords, but they were not humans. They were only about three feet tall, and had mottled blue skin and beady eyes under a large brow, with greasy black hair hanging down the sides of their faces.

"Snow goblins," Mirisa whimpered, backing away.

"Rieklings," I swore. "What in the hell are they doing here?"

"They don't normally come this far south," Mirisa said in a panic. "There are too many, what are we going to do?"

They came down the hill quickly, half of them circling to the right and the rest going left, until they were on both sides of us. They chittered and babbled in their goblin language, and I snatched a few words from the nonsense.

"Women, easy to kill," one of them snarled in its own language.

"Taste good maybe," another snickered, licking its sharp teeth and waving its sword in front of it threateningly.

I quickly pulled one of my knives from my belt and handed it to Mirisa, who took it hesitantly. "Do you have any training at all?" I asked.

"No," Mirisa said, tears starting to run down her cheeks, looking frantically at the rieklings as they surrounded us. "Oh Gods, I don't believe this. You saved me just for both of us to die out here."

"We aren't dead yet," I said darkly, staring at the rieklings as they came closer. "I'll take out the first couple, but if they come after you, just run for it. You should be able to outrun them."

"Okay," Mirisa said, gripping the knife.

I turned slowly, as Mirisa and I both started backing up toward the river, making the nasty little goblins chitter and laugh louder as they encircled us. I was just waiting for them to get close enough, slowly swinging my sword through the air in practice.

I knelt down briefly, plucked a throwing knife from my boot, and then shot up and hurled the knife with all my strength. It whipped through the air and struck the closest riekling right between the eyes, hitting with a loud crack as the blade split through his skull, knocking his head back as he toppled over backwards.

Before the others even could react, I was already on them, leaping forward in a blur and slashing my sword down at an angle. One of the rieklings shrieked and tried to block my sword, but I bashed his blade aside and the tip of my sword carved right through his chest, slicing him from shoulder to hip. He flew backwards and then collapsed, blood erupting from his chest, and he was dead before he hit the ground.

The other two rieklings on my side howled in rage and ran at me, while the other two ran after Mirisa, who screamed in terror and ran for it. I didn't have time to watch her, and I just prayed that she could run faster than the rieklings, who might not be able to keep up with her with their shorter legs.

I slashed left and right, keeping the first riekling at bay, and then twirled around and dodged a clumsy attempt by the other one to stab me in the back. I danced away from them, but they kept moving to opposite sides, trying to flank me. I had fought rieklings a few times back in Skyrim and knew how they fought. They usually relied on simply outnumbering their opponents. Rieklings could be fast and sneaky, but these ones were not expert swordsmen, and despite their advantage over me, I was too fast for them.

I lunged forward, knocking the first riekling's blade back, and jammed my sword into his throat. Blood gushed up and he slapped his hand over the wound, dropping his sword and staggering back, staring with shocked eyes at the blood spurting from in between his stubby fingers.

The other one rushed me and I barely managed to jump out of the way, but his sword slashed down and glanced across my forearm, sending a tremor of pain up to my shoulder. I immediately switched my sword to my other hand and deflected two other rapid swipes, before the riekling came in too fast and went off balance, giving me space to dive in and bury my sword up to the hilt in his stomach.

He gurgled and went down, and I yanked the blade free, splattering blood across the frozen ground. And then I turned and ran after Mirisa, shouting her name, hoping she might hear me and try to turn around. I could only hope she might be able to lead the rieklings back in this direction.

I ran along the shore and then followed their footprints in the snow up the nearest hill, dashing in between trees, panting for breath, holding my injured arm close to my chest and praying that Mirisa was still alive.

Over the next ridge, in the middle of the grove of trees, I saw her desperately trying to fend off the two other rieklings, swinging her knife around wildly, sobbing in fear. They flanked her, just as the others had done to me, and Mirisa cried out, trying to back away from them.

My arm was almost numb, the sleeve of my jacket soaked with blood, but I managed to pull out my other throwing knife as I ran, and as soon as I reached the top of the ridge and got close enough, I hurled the knife with a nearly numb hand.

It flipped through the air unevenly, but miraculously found its target, striking right in the middle of the first riekling's back. He shrieked and fell to his knees, flopping down into the snow. The other riekling hissed and jumped at Mirisa, stabbing his sword into her side. She screamed and fell backward, clutching her stomach.

I was on him then, slashing furiously with my sword, unable to get a good handle because I was using my weaker hand. My other arm hung limply at my side, blood dripping from my fingertips.

The riekling snarled at me, baring his sharp teeth, and lunged forward, aiming for my stomach, but I parried his blow and tried to counter-attack, but was not fast enough, and he scurried away, snarling and spitting at me, cursing in his goblin language. Spit flew from his lips and he charged again.

I was exhausted from all the running, and my wounded arm was slowing me down, distracting me. I managed to block his strikes, but he always dodged my counter-attacks before I had time to get at him. And I was slowing down, panting hard for breath.

The riekling was tired too, but he could see that I was wounded and it encouraged him, so he kept attacking me, just waiting for the perfect time when my arm would grow too tired and I would not be able to block his attacks any longer.

I had to end this. I allowed my sword to drop a few inches and backed away, loudly gasping for breath. The riekling snickered evilly and rushed forward again, slashing at my stomach.

My sword jumped up and knocked his blade away, the edge of his blade skipping just over my shoulder, so close I could almost feel the gouged edge snag on my hair. I couldn't get my own sword up fast enough to stab him, but I brought it up and pushed hard, knocking him back. Then I dropped my own sword and reached up to grab his arm, knocking him to the ground and falling on top of him.

"Nasty human!" he snarled. "Kill you! Eat you!"

We struggled in the snow, fighting over the sword, and the riekling snapped and howled, sinking his teeth into the flesh of my numb hand. I barely felt the pain, and instead slammed my shoulder into his chest, pushing him down as I twisted his arm. He screamed and punched at me but he could not get any leverage on me, and I finally bent his arm back enough that he was forced to let go of the sword. I snatched it up and rolled away.

The riekling snarled and spat, and jumped up after me. But before he could make a move, I swung the sword up and buried the blade in his skull, splitting his head open. He stopped dead and then fell over. I let go the sword, and he hit the ground with it still lodged in his head.

My whole body ached, and my arm was completely numb now, blood soaked all the way from my elbow to my hand, which was torn open from the riekling's sharp teeth and bleeding freely as well. I managed to get to my feet and limped over to Mirisa.

She was sitting up against the base of a tree, crying pathetically and whimpering, her trembling hands held over the large bloody spot on the front of her parka. Her face was streaked with tears, and the snow underneath her was streaked with blood.

"I tried to run," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry Sasha."

"It's okay," I said weakly, slumping into the snow beside her. "They're all dead. We just have to make it back to the fort. We can make it."

"I can't, he stabbed me, I can't stop the bleeding. It hurts so much"

"Just put pressure on it," I said, looking down at the blood all over her. I knew that the stab wound could not have been that deep, because otherwise she would probably already be dead. The large amount of blood made the wound seem worse than it was, but the blood loss was not a good sign.

"I can cut some rags from their clothing, we can stop the bleeding," I said. "It won't be easy, but we can make it."

"I'm going to die," Mirisa cried uncontrollably. "I don't want to die, I'm so scared, I don't want to die like this."

She closed her eyes tightly and cried, tears streaming down her face. Her hands, coated with blood, could not keep pressure on her wound because they were shaking so bad.

I put my hand on hers and leaned over her, speaking calmly in her ear. "You're not going to die, I promise you. But we have to stop the bleeding first. And we can't stay here, the bodies will attract wolves."

But she didn't listen to me, and just kept crying, as her blood dripped out onto the cold, white snow.


	24. Chapter 24

24

The rest of the day was lost in a haze of pain and fatigue and agonizing weakness, and I lost all track of time. My muscles burned with exertion, and the only thing that kept me moving was crippling fear and my own all-consuming stubbornness. One step at a time, forcing my exhausted legs to keep moving, my wounded arm throbbing in pain every step of the way, my head pounding and my back screaming in protest.

I managed to cut strips from the dead rieklings' fur clothing, and wrapped some tightly around my forearm to stop the bleeding at least. Mirisa's wound was another matter. I cut some cloth from her own robe and packed it down over the stab wound, and then tied more strips of cloth around it to hold it in place. At some point, Mirisa stopped crying enough to help.

Neither of us had slept much the night before, and that, combined with being so hungry as well as losing a lot of blood, made both of us weak and tired. Mirisa could barely stand at first, her legs trembling. She had to lean on me as we made our way south, taking it one slow step at a time.

We were too tired to talk, too tired to do anything, but we could not stop moving. We didn't have time to rest. Both of us realized that we were in no condition to camp for the night again, so that meant we absolutely had to make it back to Fort Frostmoth by night fall. We were too exhausted to try to gather firewood, and another day without food or medical attention might very well make it impossible to go on. The cold alone would probably kill us.

So me marched through the snow, forcing our way onward. Mirisa could not go by herself, so she leaned against me, and I had to half-carry her as her strength waned and she could no longer walk on her own at all. Her skin was pale and her breath was shallow, but somehow she kept going.

"We're almost there," I would whisper once and awhile, knowing it was a lie.

One foot after the other, one step at a time. Just keep moving, don't stop for anything. If we stopped to rest, we would never be able to get back up again.

My legs felt like dead weights, chained with manacles and dragging boulders behind them. My back burned with the pain of supporting Mirisa for so long, and my lungs felt dry and raw from breathing the cold, dry air. And my arm, once blissfully numb, regained its feeling only to throb in agonizing pain all day long.

Night began to fall, almost without me realizing it. One moment, it was still bright outside, and the next, I could barely see where we were going because it was so dark. I began to panic, and wanted to move faster, but my body would not cooperate. Mirisa was slumped over me like a sack of grain, her legs wobbling forward, barely even holding up her own weight. But she was alive, I could hear her gasps for breath, and it urged me on.

"Fight the cold, fight the pain." That was something my father had told me an eternity ago. Fight the cold, fight the pain. I marched on into the darkening forest, the intense cold nipping at my face, stinging my eyes. We shuffled onward, overcome by pain and almost blind in the dark.

Finally, I lost my footing, and fell to one knee, crying out in surprise and pain. Mirisa sagged off me, even as I tried in vain to lift her up again. She slumped against the base of a tree and her head rolled back, blinking at me slowly. She couldn't even move anymore, and neither could I. I fell to my side and lay in the snow, panting for breath, forcing my eyes open and fighting the desire to simply close them and drift off to gentle slumber.

"If we fall asleep … we're dead," I whispered.

Mirisa swallowed weakly and said nothing. Even in the darkness, I could see how pale her face was, how hollow her eyes appeared. The wind picked up, making it even colder, and the tree branches above us rustled, knocking some snow loose. A few stray flakes of snow drifted down over Mirisa's face, and she was too tired to even wipe them off.

"You … tried," she whispered. "I'm so … sorry."

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to roll over onto my hands and knees, my face pressed into the snow. The coldness forced me to push upward, my arms quivering, and I somehow found myself sitting upright. Fight the cold, fight the pain. I kept thinking it over and over, until I was able to climb to my feet.

Through the blur of darkness, I could make out dim lights in the distance. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, or it was just the reflection of moonlight on drifts of snow. But as I stared, I was certain that they were lights, although I could not tell how far away they were.

And lights could only mean one thing. It was the fort, it had to be. By some miracle, we had almost reached our destination.

I could barely stand, but I took another step forward. I reached down and gripped Mirisa's parka in one frozen hand.

"Come on," I said through clenched teeth. "Just a little farther, I promise."

"I can't," she whispered softly, looking up at me with large, sad eyes. "I can't move anymore. I can't."

"We're almost there, I can see the fort."

"Sasha … it's over. I can't … go on any farther."

With my other hand, I steadied myself against the tree. I could not stand for long. If I did not start moving soon, I was going to lose the tiny reserve of strength I had found. But I knew that if I left her here to go get help, she would be dead before we got back. It was now or never.

I took a few slow, deep breaths, trying to build up just a little bit of energy. Mirisa looked up at me wonderingly, her shallow breaths the only sign of life.

I leaned my head back and screamed as loud as I could.

"Help us! Please!" I screamed. "It's Sasha and Mirisa! Please help us!"

The expenditure of energy sapped the life out of me, and I fell forward onto my knees, leaning over Mirisa. Her body felt cold against mine, but her eyes searched up and found mine, and we just sat there for a moment, looking at each other.

I heard a faint voice, then another, in the distance. Then the sight of torches, far away but coming closer.

"Are they … coming?" Mirisa whispered.

"Yes," I gasped. "They heard me."

"You … saved me … again," she said, giving me a weak smile.

I turned my head and saw three figures stomping through the woods, waving torches. "Sasha!" one of the cried. "Sasha! Where are you?"

"Over here," I croaked, barely able to raise my voice. They turned and ran in our direction, the light of their torches shining on us like the light of redemption.

"Oh my God! Davus, go get more men!"

Out of the darkness came my savior. Gaea Artoria emerged from the shadows, a torch in her hand, and she grabbed me and pulled me to my feet somehow. The other two guards checked on Mirisa and tried to keep her awake and comfortable while another one ran off for more help.

"You're hurt," Gaea said in a panic. "By the Gods, what happened to you? Sasha?"

I smiled weakly and then I finally succumbed to unconsciousness. I fell into her arms and passed out.


	25. Chapter 25

_I hope everyone is still enjoying this. At this point in the novel, the story is going to start diverging significantly from the plot of the video game. Basically, from this point onward, I'm taking the story in a totally different direction, so hopefully everyone is cool with that. _

25

When I woke up, I was laying in bed, my arms at my sides and the heavy blankets up to my neck. My whole body ached, but I was warm and safe. I sighed and turned my head to the side, seeing that I was in the women's bunk room in my own bed, but no one else was there. Part of me wanted to fall right back to sleep, but first I wanted to know what was going on in the fort. So I grunted in soreness and wiggled my way out of the heavy blankets enough to sit upright in bed.

I leaned back against the headboard and looked down at my right arm, which was wrapped in a bandage from my wrist to my elbow. I could flex the muscles in my arm without too much pain, and I could move my hand just fine, so the damage must not be too bad.

Just then I caught a whiff of food and my stomach grumbled loudly, my mouth salivating immediately. I hadn't eaten all the previous day, and was starving.

Gaea entered the room, carrying a bowl in one hand. She was dressed in leather trousers and a plain gray tunic, her long red hair tied in a ponytail.

"Oh, you're awake," she said with a smile. "Want something to eat?"

"Yes, please," I croaked, reaching out for the bowl.

"It's just fish stew, we don't have much else right now."

"I'm sure it will be the most delicious thing I've ever had," I said, already stuffing a spoonful into my mouth.

Gaea sat down on the bed next to mine and let me eat for a few moments. The stew was watery and the fish was flavorless, but I was too hungry to care. After I had downed half the bowl I took a moment to catch my breath.

"So how do you feel?" Gaea asked.

"Compared to yesterday, I feel incredible."

"What in the world happened, anyway? We got part of the story from Mirisa, but she's still recovering so I didn't want to bother her too much."

"How is she doing?"

"Not great," Gaea admitted. "She lost a lot of blood, but I think she'll pull through. The wound wasn't infected, thankfully. Her boyfriend wanted to try bleeding himself and draining his blood into her but we talked him out of it. We don't have anyone trained enough to try something like that. The healing potions will have to do for now. She just needs a lot of rest."

"Well, that's a relief," I said. I tilted up the bowl and noisily drank the rest of the stew, then set the empty bowl on the bed and wiped my mouth with my shirt.

"She told us what happened to her," Gaea said. "About the Nord who kidnapped her, I mean. She said you were making your way back to the fort when a hunting party of rieklings attacked you?"

"Yeah," I said. I decided not to inquire about exactly what Mirisa had told them, and I could only hope that she had decided to lie about the identity of her attacker, as I had asked her to. "I have no idea what they were doing there. Just stupid bad luck, I guess."

"How many were there?"

"Six, I think."

"Six rieklings?" Gaea said. "And you fought them all by yourself?"

"I didn't have much choice. Mirisa certainly wasn't going to fight them off."

"That's pretty impressive though, killing six rieklings single-handedly."

I knew what she was getting at, but I just brushed it off. "Well, I know how to defend myself. I told you my dad worked for the Fighter's Guild."

"You did tell me that," she said with a smile, "and I didn't believe it that time either."

"Why not?" I asked innocently.

Gaea leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, speaking in a lower voice, although I doubted that anyone was eavesdropping on us. "Because there's a difference between training and experience. You can train someone in combat all you want, but send them out into a battle for the first time and they'll panic and forget half of what they've learned. It's different when the other person is actually trying to kill you. It takes real experience in combat to learn how to handle yourself. I can tell that you've done some serious fighting before, Sasha. I could tell as soon as I saw you fight those berserkers."

"I never said I hadn't been in combat," I said evasively. "I did jobs working as a bodyguard, I did some mercenary work, that sort of thing. I've been in lots of fights."

"Do you really expect me to believe that someone would hire a beautiful young woman like you to be a bodyguard?"

I smiled pleasantly. "I really don't care what you believe. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it."

"Alright," Gaea said with a shrug. "If you don't want to tell me, I guess it's none of my business. But there is a lot more to you than you're letting on."

"I like being mysterious," I said, fidgeting with the bandage on my arm, as it was starting to itch.

I untied the end and began to slowly unravel the bandage, very gently pulling it when it got stuck on dried blood. Gaea helped me remove it completely, and I finally got a good look at my injured arm.

There was a seven-inch gouge across the top of my forearm, surrounded in an ugly purplish bruise. The cut was stitched up now; they must have done it while I was unconscious. Along the bottom edge of my hand, they also stitched up the goblin's bite mark. I flexed my arm again and moved my fingers, feeling only a little bit of pain when I tried to twist my arm and the cut pulled against the stitches.

"Not too bad?" Gaea asked.

"I guess I should feel lucky that it didn't break my arm," I said. "It's more of a bruise than a cut. It will leave an ugly scar though."

"Better than the alternative. And you're lucky the bite isn't infected."

I got out of bed and went to use the privy, and then began to get dressed. They had tucked me into bed in just my underclothes, so I pulled on a pair of fur pants and grabbed a fur jacket to match.

As I was tying up my boots, Gaea asked, "I almost forgot to ask, do you have any idea what happened to Red-Spear?"

"Not a clue," I said. "He brought me to Thirsk but let me go into the village by myself. He said that he wasn't welcome there. When I came back out he was gone. I waited for a little bit, but I got annoyed and just began walking back here."

"He wasn't welcome there?"

"That's what he told me. He said that the local Nords didn't trust him, they thought he was an Imperial spy."

"Where do you think he went?"

"Someone in the village probably saw him and scared him off. I'm sure he meant to come back for me, but my visit there didn't last very long, I'm afraid."

"Not much luck with the Nords, I take it?"

"Well, they didn't know anything about the attack the other day. They certainly aren't responsible. But the clan chief refused to help me at all, and basically said that if the Legion tries to exact any kind of reprisals against the Nords for the attack, then it might lead to war. The only thing he could tell me is that the men in wolf skins live somewhere on the western side of Solstheim. He said they aren't Nords at all."

"So he didn't tell us anything we didn't already suspect."

"Basically."

"Well, I'll let you explain all that to Captain Cavorian."

"Who?"

"The new Captain," Gaea said. "The reinforcements from Morrowind arrived this morning."


	26. Chapter 26

26

When I got outside, the entire fort seemed to be thriving with activity. There were at least forty new Imperial soldiers, some of them unloading crates of supplies, some of them carting off loads of debris and burned wreckage from the former Command Office. Along with the new shipment of soldiers, there a load of medical supplies, food, and tools to begin rebuilding the fort. A few survivors from the Imperial Cult were already laying down blueprints to rebuild the Command Office.

Gaea led me through the crowd to the front gate of the fort, where the new Captain was busy yelling at the soldiers. His back was to us, and he waved his arm emphatically, shouting in a deep voice, "Come on now! We haven't got all day! Get those carts up here! By the Nine, don't they have any damned horses?"

"Captain," Gaea said.

The man turned to face us and gave me a stiff look. He was older, perhaps in his late forties, and sported a bushy graying mustache and beard. His eyes were dark but expressive, and his mouth seemed turned in a perpetual frown.

"Is this her?" he snapped.

"Yes, Captain," Gaea said.

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but was genuinely surprised when the Captain stuck out his hand in greeting. I grasped it and he shook my hand firmly. "That was a brave thing you did yesterday," he said gruffly, as if unfamiliar with giving praise. "The Legion and the Cult thank you. My name is Lucius Cavorian, and I've been sent here to set things right."

"Sasha Frost-Wind," I said. "Nice to meet you."

"Come on inside," he said. "You have some information for me, I believe. You too, Artoria, let's get out of this blasted cold."

We followed him into the Imperial Cult office and to one of the smaller conference rooms, and each took a seat around a table. Captain Cavorian grunted and pulled off his gloves, tossing them on the table, and then wiped his mustache before clearing his throat.

"I've been told," he began, "that you took it upon yourself to visit the Nords the other day. One of the villages up north of here. I understand your stake in this, of course, don't get me wrong. But I wish you had waited until we had arrived. This is a Legion matter."

"I know," I said, keeping my face expressionless. "But it is also a Nord matter, don't you think?"

"Yes, that's what I meant about your stake in this," Cavorian said. "Trying to protect your people, it's noble of you, I understand. Maybe trying to deflect the blame. If there is any blame to deflect, that is."

I said nothing, so he leaned forward. "So what did they tell you? All the Nord villages here are independent of each other, I know that already, so they couldn't have spoken for all the Nords on this island."

"They knew nothing about the raid," I said. "They said that the men who attacked the fort are criminals pretending to be Nords."

"Tell me everything," Cavorian said.

So I did. I explained pretty much everything that Skjoldr Wolf-Runner had said to me, regarding the attack and the supposed wolf cult. I even mentioned how Wolf-Runner laughed in amusement when I first told him about the attack, and more importantly, how he threatened a counter-attack if the Legion attacked them first. Cavorian listened intently, stroking his mustache in thought.

"Typical Nord, I guess," he grunted when I was finished. "Thinks with his sword instead of his brain. That kind of attitude has gotten the Nords in trouble before."

"What kind of attitude?" I asked, annoyed.

"You know what I mean," Cavorian said, leaning back and folding his hands in his lap. "Nords act that way all the time. They take offense where no offense was intended, they care more about their reputation and their honor than the lives of the people around them, they always jump at the chance to prove themselves more of a man than the next guy. They're not prudent, they're just reactionary."

My glare could have cut through ice. But he just smiled and added, "No offense, of course. But go ahead and get riled up, you know I'm right."

"Are you some kind of expert on the subject?" I snapped. Underneath the table, Gaea reached out to hold my hand, a silent plea for cooperation.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Cavorian answered smoothly. "Why do you think they sent me here? I've been dealing with the Nords for almost twenty years. I know how they think, I know how they act. I understand their tactics."

"Tactics?" I questioned, a sudden rush of coldness creeping up my back.

Cavorian gave me a solid look. "The Kalarand incident, ten years ago. The Brellar Uprising. The Snow-Crown Rebellion, that was barely four years ago. I've faced the Nords in battle more than a few times."

I felt the wind go out of me. My body seemed frozen.

Sensing my discomfort, Gaea spoke up. "You mean you've fought Nords in battle, sir?"

"Several times," Cavorian said. "Like I said, that's why the Legion sent me here. They figured if we're going to go to war with the Nords again, they might as well have someone like me calling the shots."

"But ..." Gaea said uncertainly. "I mean, you don't think the Nords are actually responsible for the attack, do you?"

I could only stare at him in shock. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and a million thoughts flew through my brain, a hundred different desires pulled my body in every direction. I desperately wanted to run screaming from the room, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from them, I wanted to take a knife and stab Cavorian in the heart with it.

He actually called it the "Snow-Crown Rebellion." Was it possible that he could recognize me? He couldn't know who I was, there was no way. He would have arrested me on the spot. But how could he not know? He must have seen me, he must know. Or had he just put me into the back of his mind, and didn't even recognize me as the same person from years ago?

Cavorian gave Gaea a thoughtful look and then turned his gaze on me. I felt like he was seeing right through me, and I tried my hardest to keep my face from giving anything away. I just looked surprised, and he probably thought that his military history had made me speechless, which certainly had something to do with it.

"Do I think the Nords attacked this fort?" he asked rhetorically. "Of course not."

I let out the breath I had been holding and slumped into my chair. I had never even considered that a Legion commander would recognize that the Nords weren't responsible, I assumed that anyone from the Legion would blame the Nords regardless of the truth. But Cavorian was not a common Legion Captain, it seemed.

"You see," Cavorian explained when neither me nor Gaea said anything, "Nords don't make sneak attacks in the night and then lurk away and disappear like that. They make their intentions known long in advance, and when they do come for a fight, they come in broad daylight and even give you time to put your armor on. They absolutely don't make sneak attacks and kill unarmed men and civilians. I'm told that one of the civilians killed was a Nord woman herself, and what kind of Nord would kill an innocent woman? Even their berserkers have more sense than that."

Gaea breathed out a sigh of relief, and to my surprise, so did I. I found myself actually glad that the Legion had sent an expert on Nord warfare. It never even occurred to me that an outsider would be able to make such obvious conclusions, when I hadn't even considered such things. But it was hard for me to stand back and look at the situation objectively.

Cavorian was still talking. I got the impression that he liked to lecture. "No, this whole terrible situation stinks of a set up. You noticed how they took away the bodies of their own dead? Nords wouldn't do that either, but imposters would, to prevent us from taking a good look at them. I'm convinced that whoever attacked this fort was trying to make us believe it was the Nords."

"But why?" Gaea asked.

"To throw suspicion away from themselves, of course. Make us follow a false trail and waste time while they get away."

"But why attack the fort at all?" I asked. "Why would they want us to suspect the Nords of something like that? To start a conflict between us? For what purpose?"

Cavorian stroked his mustache again. "A couple of possible reasons. The most likely is that they are trying to distract us by forcing our attention elsewhere. Starting a fire in the barn, and then stealing our valuables from the house while we try to fight the fire. Something like that."

"What about the werewolf cult story?" Gaea asked. "Why would they go to such lengths to create such an elaborate falsehood?"

"To make the attack seem more plausible, I suppose."

"So you think the werewolf cult is fake?"

"It's definitely fake," Cavorian said firmly, as if it was a stupid question.

He sounded far too sure of this on such little information, and I suddenly felt curious. "How do you know?" I asked.

"I have my sources," he said simply.

He had a spy, I realized. Of course he did, that was why he was so sure of himself, so quick to declare the cult a fake and the attack a set up. Someone was already feeding him information. And there was only one possible suspect: Red-Spear.

"Now," Cavorian said. "Don't you think it's a good thing that someone like me was sent here? The Legion could very well have sent someone else without my experience, and then you'd be having a very different conversation right now."

"Yes," I said softly, thinking to myself. "You're right about that."

"Well, I still have lots of work to do," he said, standing up. He pulled his gloves on and said, "So thank you again for saving the young woman, Mirisa, and for doing your part to investigate the source of the attack. I do appreciate it."

"So what do I do now?" I asked.

Cavorian merely shrugged. "You're not part of the Legion, so I'm not going to give you orders. If you would like to stay here at the fort and help the rebuilding, please do so. We can use all the help we can get."

He left the conference room and Gaea and I left soon after. I had a lot to think about, so I remained quiet.

When we got outside, Gaea said, "I have a lot of work to do. Captain Cavorian has promoted me to temporary second-in-command, since I'm the most experienced guard here."

"Congratulations," I said, although by Gaea's tone of voice I could tell she was hardly thrilled with the promotion. "I'm going to go see Mirisa and see how she's doing. I'll catch you later, all right?"

"Sure thing," Gaea said, heading off in the other direction.

I stood out in the yard for a few moments, gathering my thoughts, and then headed back inside the Cult offices.


	27. Chapter 27

27

While I had been asleep, the story of my return to the fort had spread like wildfire among the guards and Imperial Cultists. On my way to see Mirisa, I bumped into a young female Cultist, one of the survivors of the attack, and she nearly tripped over herself in expressing her overwhelming gratitude to me. She acted like I had single-handedly rescued the entire fort.

"Blessings to you," she blubbered. "What you did was so amazing, we cannot thank you enough. We will contact our superiors and tell them what you've done for Mirisa, I'm sure they will want to thank you personally."

"That's really not necessary," I insisted, gently pushing her back. "Just tell me where Mirisa is. I'd like to see how she's doing."

"Oh, of course! She's in her room upstairs. Here, I can show you the way."

She led me up to the private rooms on the second floor and thanked me twenty more times before heading off to complete her daily chores. I shook my head in vague annoyance, bothered by her sincere outpouring of emotion. I didn't know how to deal with that.

And I certainly didn't want them sending messages about me to their leaders in Mournhold or the Imperial City, or anywhere else for that matter. I wanted to keep my presence here as inconspicuous as possible. The last thing I wanted was for anyone in a position of authority to be interested in me. I was tempted to chase the girl down and tell her so, but then that would probably just make her suspicious.

First I meet Cavorian and he knows so much it makes me nervous, and now the Cultists want to inform their leaders about me. This was getting far too complicated.

I sighed and decided to deal with it later. Carefully, I opened the door to Mirisa's room and peeked inside. The room was dark, but a few small candles were lit. Mirisa was in bed, and her fiance Jeleen was slouched in a chair by the bed, his hands in his lap and his chin resting on his chest, gently snoozing. He'd probably been awake all night, and he didn't wake even when I snuck into the room and walked over to the bed.

Mirisa must have been a lighter sleeper, because her eyes drifted open as soon as I was beside her and she smiled sleepily when she saw me.

"Good morning," I said quietly, not wanting to wake Jeleen.

"Yes," Mirisa breathed. "Is it only morning?"

"Not quite midday yet."

"How do you feel?" she asked.

I almost laughed. "How do I feel? I think I should be asking you how you feel. I was told that you'll be okay, but you need lots of rest."

"Yes, lots of rest for me. It could have been much worse."

"Yes," I said somberly, remembering how close it had been. We were unimaginably lucky to have made it as far as we did. Any one of a million things could have stopped us, and even a short delay could have resulted in the two of us frozen to death out in the wilderness. They might not have even found our bodies.

"You're a hero, you know," Mirisa said.

"Some people sure seem to think that way, but I don't."

"Then you're wrong."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" I asked, changing the subject.

She nodded slightly. "They say I lost a lot of blood, but in time my body will create more and then I'll be fine. Until then I'll stay in bed."

"Jeleen and the others will take good care of you, I'm sure."

She glanced over at Jeleen, still slumped in his chair, snoring slightly, and grinned. "I guess he needs some rest as well. He stayed up with me all night to make sure I was okay. He said he was going to see you as well, but I guess he'll do that later."

"He doesn't have to," I said. "I don't like all the attention. It feels weird when people thank me like that. I don't deserve that much gratitude."

"Of course you do," Mirisa said. "The fact that you don't think you deserve it, proves how much you really do. I told them about how you fought off the snow goblins. Few people could have done all that, and brought me all the way back here alone."

"Yeah, well," I mumbled, uncomfortable again. "I'm not always such a great person. I have bad days too."

Mirisa smiled, as if amused at my inability to brush off their praise. "I told them what you wanted me to," she said softly. "About the Nord who attacked me."

I nodded. "I appreciate that. I hope you understand why I asked that of you."

"I understand, but I must be honest with you. I don't agree with it. But you saved my life, Sasha. I can tell one little lie in return for that. I owe you that much."

"You don't owe me anything, but thank you just the same."

"And I think I understand what you mean now," Mirisa added. "What you said the other day about letting the past go. After what happened to you, I can't believe you're willing to stay here with the Imperial Legion. I don't know if I can be as forgiving."

"I don't forgive anyone," I said. "I just don't judge all of the Imperial Legion by what a small number of them have done. And you shouldn't judge the Nords because a small number of them have hurt you."

Mirisa paused a moment and then smiled in understanding. "Yes, of course. Stendarr teaches us mercy and forbearance. Those who have committed no wrongs are safe, it is only those who commit offense that are judged in the eyes of the law. How could I have forgotten this?"

I didn't have an easy answer for her, but I was relieved that what I told her was backed up by her own religious teachings. Stendarr was one of their Nine Divines, the God of Mercy if I remembered correctly. He had some connection with an older Nord God, but I was not very educated about religious matters. I barely followed the religion of my own people, especially since my time in prison.

"Thank you again, Sasha," Mirisa said. "For reminding me. I know you are not a worshiper of the Nine, but perhaps they are working through you."

"Perhaps," I said with a smile. "But the only one of your Gods I'm interested in is your God of War, Talos."

"He is known as Ysmir among the Nords, is he not?"

"Yes, we call him the Dragonborn."

I touched her arm supportively and said, "I better be going now. You still have to rest. But I'll be back later, when you're feeling a bit better."

"I would like that," Mirisa said. "Have a good day, Sasha."

"You too," I said, and went to the door. "When Jeleen wakes up, let him know I was here."

I closed the door quietly and walked out into the hallway. It had been a long time since I had thought about the Gods, and the talk with Mirisa had brought back some memories of my youth, learning about the Sky Goddess Kyne and her husband, the God Shor, who rules the afterlife in Sovngarde. It felt strange to think back to those days, considering I had little use for the Gods now. I suppose I still believed, but I did not worship anymore.

Maybe one day I would see Sovngarde for myself and take the final ride with Shor, and maybe I would see my father there. But then again, maybe not.

I left the Cult building and walked out into the cold afternoon air. There was no time for me to worry about the afterlife when there was still living to do.


	28. Chapter 28

28

After the frantic pace of the last two days, it was almost a relief to fall back into work, and there was more than enough work to do. I went to the kitchen and returned to my normal schedule of helping Liman with meals, preparing some of the food, and cleaning up afterward. Liman was pleased to see me there and shared a few kind words with me, but he soon returned to his normal busy self, diving into his work to distract him from all that had been going on. I was the only one there, aside from Liman, who was familiar with the kitchen, as the rest of the normal kitchen crew, including Tomas and Grilda, had perished in the attack. We had a few others helping out, so I wound up giving a few people orders as well.

After the lunch rush, I helped clean up a little and then headed outside to see what else needed to be done. A dozen of Cavorian's guards had stripped to their underclothes and were working up a sweat chopping down trees and hauling the timbers up to the fort to be used in constructing temporary barricades to cover the gaping holes in the fort's defenses. In time, the Legion would have to bring experienced stonemasons from Morrowind to rebuild the damaged portions of the fort, but for now we would have to make due with wooden walls.

I grabbed a shovel and helped dig out what remained of the destroyed Command Office, a pile of cold ash and debris. Thankfully, all of the bodies had already been pulled from the wreckage and put to rest, so I didn't have to deal with that. All I had to do was dump shovelfuls of ash into a cart, which was taken down by the shore and emptied. Once all of the ash and debris was removed, they would begin construction of the new offices.

Almost everyone was working, and only a few guards actually remained on guard. Most of them were not wearing their armor, and were busy hauling debris, cutting logs, or bringing in supplies that were still being delivered. I didn't see Cavorian or Gaea anywhere, but I guessed they were in a meeting or something, coming up with plans on how to schedule the work being done, while at the same time protecting the fort from further attack.

When dinner time came around, I headed back down to the kitchen and started unpacking crates of salted meat. I was already exhausted, but so was everyone else, and we weren't even done preparing the food before groups of workers and guards started shuffling into the cafeteria. It was time for the dinner rush again.

When we were done preparing meals, and almost everyone had been served, Liman pulled me aside and told me to go get something to eat myself.

"Thanks for helping out again," he said with a weary smile on his face. "You're a godsend, Sasha. Go and take a break, I think we can handle it now."

"Are you giving me the rest of the night off?" I said sarcastically.

Liman laughed softly and placed his hand on mine, looking down at the stitched-up bruise along my forearm. "If anyone here deserves a night off, you do," he said gently. "You've done so much for us. I don't know how we ever could have gotten by without you."

"I haven't done anything special," I said, shrugging it off. "I don't even know how to cook. But thanks for the praise."

"Have a good night, Sasha."

"I will, and I promise I'll be back in the morning to help with breakfast."

Liman smiled again and let me go. I grabbed a plate of food and went out to sit in the cafeteria. I didn't know any of the guards and didn't feel like introducing myself, so I found an empty table and ate my dinner alone. I caught a few Imperial Cult members looking my way, but I didn't feel like talking to them, since I knew they would only want to thank me for saving Mirisa, and I was already tired of the attention.

When I was finished eating, I left the cafeteria and headed outside, feeling tired enough to fall right asleep. When I opened the door, the blast of freezing cold air was enough to wake me right back up, and I stepped out into the main yard, wrapping my arms around myself. A dusting of snow was on the ground, but the sky was completely clear, and stars were visible already in the twilight. Soon, it would be dark.

I looked up at the fort walls, and saw plenty of guards on duty, as I had expected. I thought it unlikely that we would be the focus of another attack, but Cavorian was clearly taking no chances, and I didn't blame him. Now that the sun was going down, it was time for everyone to be on alert.

Three guards were standing around a flaming brazier, warming themselves against the bitter cold. I wandered over and one of them eyed me up in surprise.

"By the Nines, girl. Aren't you cold?" he said, looking down at my shirt and trousers.

"I just came from the kitchen," I explained. "I'm just getting some fresh air before I head back inside."

One of the other guards quipped, "If I came out in the cold dressed like that, I'd probably get frostbite in my sensitive parts."

We all laughed at that, and I said, "Well, I wouldn't stay out here all night dressed this way, but I can handle it for a few minutes. The cold feels good after being in that hot kitchen for hours."

"You Nords must have fire in your veins if you can handle cold like this all the time."

"It has been rumored," I said with a smile.

"You certainly are a little hot one, I'll give you that. You can come heat up my bed tonight, if you're interested."

I gave him a grin. "Aren't you on duty this evening?"

"Yeah," he said. "Unfortunately."

I stepped closer to the fire and warmed my hands. "Have they told you how long you'll all be stationed here?"

"A few weeks, at least," one of the other guards said, his voice low. "Maybe a few months. Not longer than half a year, I would hope."

"Unless we get into some trouble," the first guard added. "If this Nord cult, or whatever it is, becomes a serious threat, then the Legion will be forced to increase their presence here. That means more men, longer assignments. Some of us might be here longer if they can't find men to replace us."

Another guard grumbled, "I've only been here a day and already I hate it here."

"Could be worse," the first guard said. "I'd rather be here than back on the east side of Morrowind. Ever been stationed near Sadrith Mora? That place is a festering nightmare. Hot and sticky all the time, fighting off swarms of bugs, and surrounded by Dunmer and all sorts of freaks. I hated it there, I'll take Solstheim any day."

"See?" I said to the others. "It's not so bad here. Maybe you'll learn to like it."

"Not bloody likely," one of them muttered.

The chill was finally getting to me, so I nodded to them and said, "Well, I have to get going. You gentlemen have a good evening."

As I walked away, the first guard called to me, "Hey sweetheart, what did you say your name was?"

"My name is Sasha," I said.

"I'm Dannus Grandius," he said. "Maybe if I have tomorrow night off, you and me can spend some time together."

"I'll think about it," I called back, and the other guards laughed.

I headed inside and shook off the cold. I was still tired, but I felt better. Spending the day working had helped burn up some of my anxious energy, and I felt more calm than I had for the last few days. I was glad that things seemed to be getting back to normal, or relatively so. Another few days of this and maybe I'd begin to get over my frustration and anger regarding the attack and everything that followed it.

I thought briefly about those who had died, and decided there was no use in grieving over them any longer. Even Falx, who I had been close to, was now just a memory. In time, we would avenge their deaths, I was sure of that. Now it was time for us to move on and rebuild our lives. It was not the first time I had faced the death of those close to me, and I knew it wouldn't be the last. The world is not a kind place.

One thing did bother me, however. I hadn't really thought about it until I saw all the guards lined up on the fort walls, but it occurred to me that we were not the only location that was under the threat of attack. The Raven Rock mining operation was far more vulnerable than we were, and I wondered if Cavorian intended to send reinforcements there as well. I had to assume that was the case. I would ask them about it in the morning.

When I made it up to the bunk room, I sat down on my bed and kicked off my boots. Sitting on the floor by the bed were my other clothes, including my jacket from the day before, still stained with both my blood and Mirisa's blood.

Leaning up against the wall was my sword, and I carefully picked up the scabbard and gently pulled the blade free a few inches. I would probably need it again, soon. Life had returned to some semblance of normalcy here at the fort, but the men who attacked us were still on the loose, whether they were Nords or not. And I wasn't going to fool myself into thinking that my part in this fight was over.

Before too long, I would need to use my sword again. But I hoped that I might get at least a few days to relax.


	29. Chapter 29

29

Just as I was curling up to go to bed, the door to the bunk room opened and Gaea stepped inside, looking beat. Her long red hair hung across her face and she sighed wearily, walking over to her bed. She set her helmet down and began to fiddle with the clasps on her armor. The room was mostly dark, but I had left a few candles burning, so there was some light to see by.

"Tired?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at her.

She glanced up. "Oh, Sasha, I thought you were already asleep."

"No, I just laid down a few minutes ago."

She unhooked the shoulder clasps on her armor and pulled the shoulder pads off, tossing them on the floor. "What a day," she said. "I feel like we have a million things to do." She sat down on the bed and slid out of her armor with a grunt, flopping it down on the bed beside her, brushing her hair out of her face with a tired wave of her hand.

"Is the new Captain putting a lot of responsibility on you?" I asked.

"He sure is. I don't think I'm ready for it."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. It's only temporary, right?"

"Hopefully," Gaea said, unbuckling her belt. She leaned over to pull off her boots and undo her thigh armor, and set them on the floor by the shoulder pads. "I don't feel comfortable giving orders to all these new men. I don't know them, and I don't think they'll listen to me the way they might listen to a male commander."

I rolled over to face her. "Don't let them know you feel that way. Just act like you're used to giving orders."

"I'm not used to it at all," Gaea said, shaking her head slightly. "I never applied for promotions, I always liked just being a soldier. I don't like being in charge."

She sighed and stood up to change her clothes. Underneath her armor, she wore a warm long-sleeved sweater, and pulled it over her head, dumping it on the floor by the wooden box at the foot of her bed. In the warm candlelight, her skin glistened with sweat, and I could see the lines of muscles on her arms and chest. I found myself watching her change clothes, although I usually turned away to be polite. This time I watched her undress, because we had become good friends and I didn't think there was anything strange about it.

She caught me watching her, and said softly, "So how was your day? I saw you in the kitchen at dinner. I'm sure Liman was glad to see you there."

"I just wanted to do something productive," I explained. "I spent all afternoon helping clear out the area where the office was, but I helped Liman with lunch and dinner."

Gaea slid out of her dark slacks and took a thin tunic out of the wooden chest. She pulled it on and then brushed her hair behind her head. She left her legs bare, and padded over to the bed in her bare feet.

"Captain Cavorian was asking about you," she said as she sat down on the bed. Taking a stiff brush off her nightstand, she began to brush her hair, like she did every evening. "He wanted to know if you would accept a position within the Legion."

"Why would he ask that?"

"Come on, Sasha," Gaea said, giving me a smirk as she brushed her hair. "You single-handedly killed a whole group of rieklings. You practically carried Mirisa here from halfway to Thirsk. I told him about our run-in with those berserkers too. Half the fort is talking about you. Given your obvious talents, Cavorian would have to be an idiot not to want you to join the Legion. You could be a great help."

"I hope you told him I wasn't interested."

"I suggested that it was unlikely you would accept an offer of employment."

I laughed and said, "That's a nice way of putting it. Besides, I'm already willing to help them, you know that. It doesn't mean I want to join."

"Nords have joined the Legion before," Gaea said.

"I'm aware of that."

Setting her brush back on the nightstand, Gaea leaned back on her elbows and fiddled with the bottom hem of her tunic. "So what are your plans then? You're going to stay here at least until we discover who is responsible for the attack, right?"

"Of course I am."

"And after that?"

I sat up in bed a little bit. "I would like to return to Skyrim eventually."

"Do you still have family there?"

I decided to be honest. "Not anymore. But it's still my homeland. It's where I grew up, it's still what I think of as home."

But you … you don't have to return to Skyrim, right?" Gaea asked.

I looked at her carefully and sat up a little straighter. Her face was in shadow, her red hair glinting in the candlelight, but I could see her eyes. She nervously fumbled with the hem of her tunic, but her body posture was tense. I felt a sudden, sad longing for her, and I felt sorry for her at the same time.

"Are you asking me to stay?" I asked gently.

"Just think about it, okay?" she asked hopefully. "I mean, I know how you feel. I know you aren't … interested in me like that. But … it's just that ..."

"You can be honest with me, Gaea," I said. "Tell me what's on your mind."

She breathed out a long, uncomfortable sigh. "I don't have any other friends here," she said in a low, trembling voice. "Even before the attack, I didn't have many. But they were all killed. You're the only person that I can really talk to. I don't have anyone else."

"Just give it time," I said. "Maybe you can make friends with some of the new guards here. I've spoken with a few of them, they don't seem so bad."

"But I can't do that if Cavorian insists on putting me in charge," Gaea explained. "I can't make friends with the soldiers I'm in charge of. And once they find out that … that I don't like men, then they'll lose respect for me anyway. I don't even know what Cavorian will do once he finds out."

"All of the new reinforcements are men, aren't they?"

"Yes," Gaea said, with a touch of bitterness. "I'm the only woman guard here now. You and me are the only two women in the whole damn fort."

I didn't know what else to say, so I just said, "I'm sorry, Gaea. I wish I knew how I could help you."

"Just stay for a little while," she asked quickly. "I know how pathetic this sounds, but I can't help it. I like you, I really do, and it hurts me. I think if I have to stay here on this damn island by myself any longer I think I'll go crazy."

Her voice broke at that last sentence, and I realized she was actually crying. It broke my heart to see her like this, and I mentally cursed myself for not being more aware of her feelings sooner. We had been so busy, and I had been so preoccupied with my other problems, that I didn't spend too much time thinking about Gaea. How long had her feelings been building up like this?

She had probably felt this way long before I ever even arrived on Solstheim, unable to find another woman to share her feelings with. She had been alone for a very long time, and now that she had found someone she liked, she was afraid to see them go.

I hadn't asked to be put in this position, but I realized that I was partly to blame as well. Maybe I was a little too friendly with her, maybe I had led her on, but whatever the case, I felt guilty about it.

I pulled off my blankets and went over to her bed, sitting down beside her. She tentatively reached out for me, and then fell into my arms, embracing me tightly. All this time, she had wanted someone to hold her, and I could feel the flood of emotion pouring out of her, dumping all her pent-up emotion on me like a catharsis.

She dried her tears on my shoulder and whispered, "I'm sorry, Sasha. I'm sorry I'm being so selfish. It's not fair to you."

"It's okay," I said softly. "I was being selfish too, I guess."

"You lost someone too," she said. "I didn't know how to comfort you, I didn't know what to say."

"Don't worry about him. It's not important now."

I carefully pried myself away from her and set my hand on her leg. She sighed a deep sigh of relief and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for that. I feel better now. I was just afraid that … you know, you would take it the wrong way. I was afraid that I would scare you off."

"Us girls have to stick together, right?" I said with a smile. "I'm sorry I can't give you what you want, but I can still be your friend."

"Thank you, Sasha."

Her hair had fallen in front of her face again, so I gently brushed it away and put my hand on her shoulder. Then I casually leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Let's get some rest," I said. "We can talk about this more in the morning. You'll feel even better after you've had some sleep."

Gaea didn't resist as I helped her into bed and pulled the covers up over her. She rolled onto her side and smiled at me. "Good night," she said.

"Good night," I said as I got into bed myself.

"Sasha?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe tomorrow, you can tell me a little more about your past. Whatever you've done, it doesn't matter to me. You can tell me, you know."

"I know," I said as I curled up under the blankets. "I'll tell you tomorrow, I promise."


	30. Chapter 30

30

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the bunk room door. I blinked away sleep and rolled over to see Gaea was already awake and getting her armor on.

"Artoria," someone out in the hallway said. "The Captain wants to see you as soon as possible."

Gaea went and opened the door. "Tell him I'll be down in just a minute," she said to the guard outside. She pulled on her belt and scabbard and buckled up.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing important," Gaea said. "Cavorian is arranging a team to send to Raven Rock to make sure everything is under control. He sent some men yesterday afternoon, but they haven't sent a message back yet."

I sat up in bed and rubbed my head, mussing up my hair. "Does he think something has happened to them?"

"Probably not," Gaea said. She picked up her helmet and then shrugged. "But who knows? That's why we're sending more people, just in case."

"Are you going?"

"I don't know yet. That's up to the Captain to decide." As she went out to the hallway, she placed her hand on the door frame and turned back to look at me. "I'll probably be busy today again, so I might not have time to see you. But tonight we can talk again?"

"Sure," I said. "Of course."

After a quick trip to the privy, I returned to the bunk room and got dressed. I slipped on a thick pair of pants and pulled a heavy wool sweater over my undershirt. Then I slipped on my boots, made sure my knives were tucked inside, and grabbed my jacket. There was dried blood smeared across the right sleeve from my injured arm, and more blood spotted across the front, from when I helped Mirisa. Despite the blood, I pulled the jacket on. It was warm and had served me well so far.

I jogged out of the room, sword and scabbard in hand, and hurried down the stairs. I had promised Liman to help with breakfast, but it looked like I was going to break that promise again. I'm sure he would forgive me.

Outside, the bright morning sun blinded me momentarily, and I crossed the inner yard on the way to the Cult offices, when the front doors opened and Cavorian stepped outside, followed by a group of guards, including Gaea.

" – as quickly as possible," he was saying. "We need to know what's going on, we can't wait any longer. You should probably pack some ..."

His voice trailed off when he saw me approaching them. His bushy mustache twitched, and an amused smile spread across his face. The other guards spread out across the yard, and Gaea gave me a questioning look that soon also turned into a smile.

"Well, Miss Frost-Wind," Cavorian said, putting his hands on his hips. "How nice to see you out this early in the morning."

"If you're sending people to Raven Rock, I'd like to come along," I said.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"You're just a smart man, I guess."

He laughed heartily. "Well, since you are not under my command, I certainly can't order you not to go. You can do whatever you like."

"Thank you for your permission, just the same."

He chuckled once more and rubbed his mustache. He pointed at two of his men. "Morvian, Dashus, go fetch some supplies from the kitchen. A few packs of bread, some dried meat,that should do it. And hurry up about it."

They ran off, and Cavorian turned to Gaea. "Eight men should be enough, along with our little Nord here. Like I said, get there as soon as possible. No detours. If you discover that we're too late, send a man back here immediately. We must know the status of Raven Rock."

"Yes, sir," Gaea said.

"And be careful. Our enemies almost certainly have an advantage over us. All of you should be on your guard."

"We'll be okay. I'm more concerned about what we'll find once we get there."

"Well," Cavorian said somewhat hesitantly, "let's hope our fears are unfounded."

He gave his men one last inspection and then sent them off, wishing us luck. The two other guards returned with two packs of supplies, food and some healing potions, just in case, and Gaea ordered them forward. We marched out of the rear gate and headed through the clearing to the tree line beyond.

I stayed in the back of the group, fastening my belt and pulling on my gloves. It was brisk and cold, but there was very little wind, so it didn't feel too cold. Besides, at a quick pace, we should not have a problem staying warm. My sword slapped against my thigh as I trotted into the trees, once more going along the path that Gaea and I had traveled just a few days before.

Gaea fell back and matched pace with me. "Sasha, what are you doing?" she asked, trying to keep a smile from her face.

"Oh, come on," I said. "You didn't think I was just going to let you run off to Raven Rock, did you? I don't like being left behind. Besides, Cavorian didn't seem too surprised."

Gaea shrugged. "He expected you to come to the meeting with me. I think he was happy to see you come along."

"Of course he was."

"I have to stay up front," she said, giving me a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "Stay out of trouble back here, okay?"

"Yes, commander."

"Very funny."

Gaea ran back up to the front of the group. Since she was technically in command, and besides that she was the one who knew the way to Raven Rock, so she had to lead the group. Since I wasn't a member of the Legion, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go in front as well, so I stayed behind and brought up the rear.

We trampled through the snow and headed through the trees, steadily going up higher in elevation as we topped a low ridge and marched along the top. Snow hung heavy on the branches of the trees, and occasionally I spotted movement out in the woods, a passing wolf or maybe something else. The other guards were just as observant, and we all traveled with swords in hand, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

The last time Gaea and I had made the trip, we had not encountered anything on our way there, but on our way back to the fort we ran into a trio of berserkers. When I thought back on that fight, I remembered that Reinhardt Red-Spear had appeared to help us. I had not thought about him all the previous day.

What had happened to him in Thirsk? I suspected he had run off when some Nords found him, but why hadn't he come back to the fort after that? He must have known that I was no longer in Thirsk. I wondered if maybe something worse had happened to him. In any case, there was no sense in me worrying about it now. I hoped he was okay, and if he was okay and I ran into him again, I would give him a piece of my mind.

One of the Legion soldiers slowed his pace to walk beside me. "And here I thought you were just a simple serving wench," he said. "Had I known you were a hero, I would have been more polite."

"Do I know you?" I asked amusedly.

"Name's Dannus. We spoke last night."

"Ah, of course. I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you with your helmet on."

"And I hardly recognized you. Last night you carried plates of food, and today you're carrying a sword."

"I'm a woman of many talents."

He chuckled and nodded to himself. "You know this area pretty well then, I suppose? You must be from here."

"Actually, no. I'm from Skyrim. I've only been here for a few weeks."

"Oh. Well, I guess Skyrim is much the same as this. Mountains, open sky, lots of snow and the bitter cold. I've been stationed there as well. Not a bad place, except that the Nords all hated my guts and wished me dead."

I decided not to comment on that, as he was probably trying to draw me out into some kind of political discussion. Instead, I commented, "You've been stationed in Skyrim as well as Sadrith Mora? You're very well traveled."

"Oh, I've been lots of places, sweetheart," he said with a grin. He cast a sideways glance down at me, his eyes performing a visual examination of my body. "I can think of a few other nice places I haven't been yet, but I'd certainly like a chance to go there for a visit. If you know what I mean."

I almost laughed at his casual, overt sexism. He must have considered himself a real sweet talker. But if he thought that calling me vaguely degrading names like "wench" and "sweetheart" was going to impress me, he was sorely mistaken. I had a hard time actually being offended though, because his tone and manner were so oblivious, it seemed more funny to me than anything else.

"Well, there are lots of nice places here on Solstheim," I said pleasantly. "But some of them are very hard to get to. You should probably find a more hospitable location to spend your time."

"Where's the fun in that?" he replied, eyeing me up again and not even trying to be discreet about it. "I like a good challenge. Besides," he added, arching his neck to look up to the front of the group, where Gaea was walking, "I'm afraid my choices are rather limited in this matter."

At that, I did laugh out loud. If he hadn't been so crude and sexist, I might have found him charming. He wasn't my type anyway, even if I was interested in being with anyone right now. My last attempt at a relationship had not ended well, and I was not quite over that yet. Dannus was entertaining though, I had to give him that. At least his running commentary and clumsy sexual innuendos made the trip a little less boring.


	31. Chapter 31

31

We were maybe half a mile away from Raven Rock when we found the body. I heard Gaea cry out, and then suddenly the Legion soldiers all began running, and I had to hurry to keep up with them. Out in a shallow clearing, a man wearing Legion armor lay face down in the snow, two wooden arrow shafts jutting from his back. His body was frozen solid; he had been there since the night before.

"Oh no," Gaea said despairingly. The body of their comrade had stunned the Legion soldiers speechless. "Come on," she said, "We have to get moving. We might not be too late."

"But, ma'am" one of the guards said hesitantly, looking down at the body. "We can't just leave him here, we have to bury him."

"No time," Gaea said, shaking her head. "We'll come back for him later, we have to get to Raven Rock right now!"

By the way his body was sprawled in the snow, it looked to me like he had been running when he'd been killed, but I didn't say this out loud. If he was running, it probably meant he was being chased. And if that was the case, then I had a feeling we were already far too late to help anyone in Raven Rock.

We ran onward, slogging our way through the snow until we reached an opening in the tree line up on a hill overlooking the area where Raven Rock lay. Fading columns of wispy smoke drifted up into the sky, and we hurried down into the clearing below.

The mining camp was nothing but ruins. The ramshackle buildings and flimsy barracks that circled the compound were all burned to the ground, with nothing left but charred timbers sticking up out of the ground like grave markers. Smoke drifted up from some of the wreckage, which still smoldered and hissed. The snow was smeared with ash and debris, and blood. Corpses were lying all over, sprawled and scattered like discarded dolls, cut down mercilessly. The miners of the camp, unarmed and defenseless, all dead.

The only thing that remained standing was the mining office built into the entrance of the mine, and it was in poor shape. The wooden ramp into the mine and the structure around it was destroyed, and the outside of the office building itself was charred, the windows broken, but it was still standing. The fire had somehow charred the outside but had stopped there.

Gaea stumbled into the center of the camp, looking around in shock. The other soldiers just seemed lost, stunned to see such devastation. No one spoke, as there was nothing to say. We surveyed the destruction, trying to understand. I walked over to one of the bodies and knelt down beside it. I had never met a Bosmer elf before, but I could tell that this miner had been Bosmer. So far from home, dead in the snow.

Dannus took off his helmet and looked around the compound. "What are we supposed to do now? I don't believe this."

"We have to look for survivors," Gaea said, determined. "And then we have to let Captain Cavorian know what happened here."

"Survivors? How could there be any ..." Dannus said, shaking his head.

One of the other guards caught motion in the trees on the other side of the compound and shouted suddenly, pointing his sword. "Look!" he shouted.

"Over here!" a figure cried out as he emerged from the tree line, waving his arms. We all immediately ran over to him to find he was a Legion soldier, although he wasn't wearing his armor. Gaea tried to question him but he just waved her off and frantically told us to come with him.

Deeper into the forest, we found the survivors. There were six of them from the mining camp, four miners and two officer workers, and one other Legion soldier who was badly injured. Seven wounded, plus the Legion soldier talking to Gaea, and another man sitting near the wounded, giving some help to one of them. They were all huddled around a campfire in the middle of a grove of fir trees and were stunned to see us arrive.

"They attacked just as we arrived," the Legion soldier explained. "It was the barbarians, like they said. They all wore wolf skins, and there must have been fifty of them. We didn't stand a chance, they came from all sides."

"The Captain said he sent six men here," Gaea said.

"We sent Kalius to run back to the fort, did he ..."

"I'm sorry," Gaea said. "We found his body in the woods."

"Then that means me and Lannis are the only ones who made it out," the soldier said painfully, looking down at his wounded comrade. "And Lannis might not make it."

Gaea was focused on the soldier, and her men were trying to decide what they could do to help. But my attention was elsewhere. I walked around the soldiers and approached the campfire, staring at the man giving assistance to the wounded. He glanced up at me and gave a short nod.

It was Reinhardt Red-Spear.


	32. Chapter 32

32

"What in the hell are you doing here?" I hissed. "Where have you been? You abandoned me, you jerk!"

Reinhardt shook his head and slowly stood up, wiping his brow. "It's a long story, Sasha. I'm sorry I left you back in Thirsk, but I didn't really have a choice."

"And why not?"

"They chased me out," he said testily. "I told you they didn't like me there. And we have more important things to worry about right now, in case you hadn't noticed."

Gaea hadn't even noticed Reinhardt was there because she was so intent on listening to the Legion soldier, but when she saw him she burst out, "Red-Spear! What are you doing here?"

"That's what I want to know," I said, glaring at him.

"It doesn't matter!" he shouted back. "We have seven injured people here, and if some of them don't get proper medical attention soon, they are going to die! We don't have any food or supplies of any kind!"

Gaea instructed her men to hand over the supplies we had brought, although they didn't amount to much. The people at Raven Rock hadn't had anything to eat since dinner the night before, and they quickly ate the small amount of food we had brought with us. We had a few healing potions, and Reinhardt made quick use of them as well, applying them to the most seriously wounded. Gaea ordered the men to take a look around the compound for anything else they might be able to salvage. Blankets, torches, anything that might help.

One of the survivors, a portly little man with thinning hair, looked up at me as I tried to make myself useful. "Ah, I remember you," he said in a tired voice. "I guess that message you gave me turned out to be true after all ..."

I didn't know what he was talking about at first, and I thought maybe he was hallucinating. But then I realized with a start that it was none other than Falco Galenus, the manager of the mining operation. I had met him when Gaea and I had come to Raven Rock a few days earlier.

"Shh, Falco," Reinhardt said, putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "Don't try to talk, just lie still. You're going to be okay, but you have to stay still and don't move."

"Yes," Falco whispered, closing his eyes. "Yes, thank you."

"How are we going to get these people to safety?" I asked. "We can't just carry them all the way back to Frostmoth."

"We'll have to build a sled or a litter or something," Reinhardt said as he tucked Falco in a thick blanket. "Or we can find a mage who can teleport them, but somehow I don't think we'll be that lucky."

The Legion soldiers returned with a few items, but nothing very useful. Some tools and a few weapons, but they did find some hard bread and dried fruits inside the mining office. They gathered some more firewood and started up two more campfires to keep the survivors warm, while Gaea tried to decide what to do next.

She pulled two of her soldiers aside and said, "You two have to go back to the fort right now and tell the Captain what happened. He has to send more men here right away, and some way to get the wounded back to the fort."

"But we don't know the way," one of them said.

"Just follow our tracks in the snow, they'll lead you right back. I can't go with you, I have to stay here."

"Yes, ma'am. We'll bring back help before it gets dark, we promise."

They ran off and Gaea sighed wearily, rubbing her eyes. For someone who didn't want to be in charge, I thought she was doing a pretty good job so far, and I told her so. She didn't react at first, but then she thanked me gently. I could see how upset she was, but she was holding it in because she was in command, and her soldiers needed her to be strong.

"Reinhardt," she said, walking over to him. "Do you know anything about what happened here?"

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I got here after it was all over. I found the whole place in flames, and just did my best to help the ones who were still alive."

"Just like at the fort," Gaea said softly.

"Yeah," he said with a short nod. "Just like at the fort."

"Have you been awake all night?"

"I slept for a few hours right before dawn." He gestured at the Legion soldiers. "These men are some of the reinforcements they sent?"

"Yes, they arrived yesterday morning. Our new Captain is Lucius Cavorian."

"I think I've heard of him," Reinhardt said vaguely. He was lying and I knew it.

I interrupted them and said, "He doesn't think that Nords are responsible for the attack, which is a good thing. But we still don't know who is, and unless we get some kind of evidence, it might not make a difference."

"I know," Reinhardt said.

"They must have left tracks behind," Gaea said. "We can find them now, follow them right to their hideout."

"We need more men," Reinhardt insisted. "The force that attacked here was at least fifty men, and that might not have been all of them. We have less than ten. We can't go running after them or we'll all be killed."

"Well, I don't know about you," I said, "but I'm sure as hell going after them. You can come with me if you like."

"Don't be stupid," Reinhardt snapped, getting frustrated. "You're not the only one here who wants revenge. I spent a lot of time here, I knew some of those miners. They were friends of mine. I want to track down their killers more than you do, but we can't just run off after them without a plan!"

"I have a plan," I said, drawing my sword. "This is my plan right here."

"Stop it!" Gaea ordered. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

The guards heard her, and then suddenly everyone was paying attention to us. Dannus and the other soldiers came over, not wanting to be left out of the loop.

"What do you suggest?" Reinhardt asked Gaea. "You're in command here, it's your decision to make."

"We can't all go after them," Gaea said. "Some of us have to stay here and wait for the Captain to send more men. But," she added, "I think that maybe sending a few people to follow the tracks sounds like a good idea."

"For what purpose?" Reinhardt asked.

"To gather information, to see just what we're actually dealing with. Follow the tracks and see where they go, maybe you can sneak up on them and spy on them. Maybe find out who they actually are."

"Yeah, Reinhardt," I said. "You should be used to spying on people by now."

He glared at me, clenching his teeth, but wisely kept his mouth shut. Instead, he turned to Gaea and asked carefully, "Who exactly do you want to send?"

Gaea didn't answer, but merely turned to look at me.

"I'm going," I said. "I can't just sit around here and do nothing."

Gaea nodded, but she had a pained look on her face. "I can't go myself," she said. "I have to stay here."

"I'll go," Dannus volunteered. "I can't let the little lady go by herself."

"Why, thank you," I said sarcastically.

Gaea just shook her head. "No, you all have to stay. You're not as familiar with the landscape here, not as familiar with the weather. If anyone goes and they do find out where our enemies are hiding, they need to be able to sneak in and out silently. We would stick out like a sore thumb in our armor."

"Just a small number of people," I suggested. "Maybe just two."

Gaea nodded. "Maybe."

Reinhardt closed his eyes and groaned in frustration, shaking his head. Opening his eyes, he cast an angry glance at me and then looked at Gaea. "You want me to go, don't you?"

"I'm asking you," she clarified. "Nobody knows this island better than you do, Reinhardt. You and Sasha are the best prepared to track these men, and you know it. I can't send Legion soldiers, but I can send you."

"This is a bad idea," he warned her.

"I don't think we have a choice."

"Come on, Reinhardt," I said mockingly. "You and me make a great team. Besides, if things get dangerous, you can just run off like you did last time."

His arm snapped up and he pointed at me threateningly. "You're pushing your luck, you little brat! You want to run and play hero and get yourself killed? You think you're invincible? You want to go take on an entire army all by yourself? Be my guest!"

"Reinhardt, please," Gaea said.

"Fine!" he snapped. "I'll do it, I'll go and stick my neck out. But if we aren't back by dark, don't bother searching for us, cause it means we're both dead."

Gaea said nothing more, she gave us one last pained look and walked off. The Legion soldiers followed her lead, since they didn't know either me or Reinhardt very well anyway, there was nothing for them to say. Dannus, however, gave me a supportive nod and a smile before he headed off.

I looked at Reinhardt and gave him a smile that would have cracked ice. "Looks like it's you and me, again. I'm really looking forward to it."

"I should have never gotten involved with you. You're going to get me killed," he spat. "You're going to get us both killed."

"You don't have to come with me. I'll do this on my own if I have to."

"And if you do find them by yourself? What then?"

I held up my sword again. "Then I'll give them what they deserve."

"They'll slaughter you."

"They can try. At least I'll go out in a blaze of glory."

"You're insane."

I shrugged. "Maybe a little bit. I do take after my father, after all."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked desperately. "Are you really that determined to get killed in battle? Is revenge really the only thing that matters to you?"

I shrugged and casually swung my sword back and forth in my hand. "Revenge. Justice. They're the same thing, aren't they?"


	33. Chapter 33

33

It was just past midday, so we had several hours of daylight left. We had no supplies to take with us, just our weapons. Although I did still carry a flint sparker and a tiny flask of oil in my belt. It was always wise to have the means to start a fire if you have to, especially when the temperature drops well below freezing. And of course, I had my knives tucked in my boots. Other than that, the only thing I carried was my sword.

Reinhardt went to check on the wounded miners once more to make sure they were still in stable condition, and then he was ready to go as well. He carried his longsword, strapped to his back, and methodically tied his ponytail behind his head with a strip of cloth.

Gaea walked up to me, her arms crossed over her chest. I gave her a smile and slid my sword into its scabbard with a click. I wasn't stupid, I knew that this was a risky mission. But I wasn't going to worry about my safety, and I didn't want Gaea to do so either.

"Be careful," she said in a quiet voice. "I don't know what else to say."

"We'll be fine," I promised. "We're just going for a little peek, no big deal. We'll be back before too long."

"Make sure you do come back," Gaea said. "Remember, you promised to tell me the truth about your background. I'm going to hold you to that."

"I'll tell you when I get back."

She looked over her shoulder, to see if anyone was watching us. No one was, so she cautiously reached out and put her hand on my arm. It could feel her hand shaking. "I'll be waiting for you to get back. Don't do anything dangerous. Good luck."

I gave her hand a supportive squeeze and then hurried off to join with Reinhardt, who was waiting for me at the edge of the mining compound. He said nothing as we headed into the trees, going off in the general direction of the tracks.

There was a mess of footprints and scattered tracks in the snow, heading north for the most part. As far as we could determine, the attackers had come to Raven Rock from almost directly north, but when they left, they traveled to the north-west, and had split into two parties when they left, although we didn't know why. There were only regular footprints, no horse tracks, so we knew they had no horses. It was unlikely that they would ride horses through the snow-covered forest anyway, but ruling it out made it more likely that the attackers were within reasonably close walking distance. They had attacked Raven Rock in the evening, so their base camp must have been somewhat close by, or else they'd have needed to travel in the middle of the night to get back, which was not likely for a multitude of reasons.

"Just how close are you and Gaea, exactly?" Reinhardt asked me out of nowhere.

I laughed shortly and decided to just be honest with him. "We're just friends, but I'm afraid she wishes we were more than that."

He nodded knowingly. "I heard a rumor that she liked women more than men, but I didn't want to ask her. It doesn't really matter, I guess. I was just curious."

"Why is that? Do you have a crush on me too?"

"Hardly. I like my women a little more … traditional."

The two separate trails of retreating tracks converged near a low valley with a frozen stream winding its way through. They headed almost directly north after that, heading up into the mountains. Reinhardt and I made our way carefully along the trail, looking for clues or anything that might give us an edge. But it was impossible to tell exactly how many men there were, although our estimate of fifty seemed like a good guess, given the number of footprints.

"You know," I said conversationally. "It really seems like a strange coincidence that you just happened to arrive in Raven Rock right after the attack."

"Is that so?" Reinhardt asked lightly.

"Yeah. And then you really didn't want to follow their trail back to wherever they came from. You wanted to wait for more Legion soldiers to arrive."

"And your point is?"

"Well," I said, "it wouldn't be unreasonable for someone to think that maybe you were working with the people who attacked Raven Rock. You might have wanted the Legion to come there to draw them into a trap."

"Really? It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that?"

"Not at all."

"Are you trying to hint that you think I'm a traitor?"

"Of course not," I said. "If I thought that, I would have tried to kill you by now."

"Well, that's a relief," he muttered sarcastically.

"In fact, I think the exact opposite is true," I said. "I think that you're secretly working for the Imperial Legion, and have been since the beginning. How close am I?"

"Pretty close," Reinhardt admitted. "I suppose there's no use in keeping it a secret from you, is there? Was it the fact that the Nords don't trust me? Is that what gave me away?"

"That's part of it. I knew you had to be working for somebody. The Imperial Legion was the most obvious choice. You've been reporting to Cavorian, haven't you?"

"Now how did you figure that out?"

"He seemed to know too much about the situation here on Solstheim," I explained. "I just had a huge feeling that someone was feeding him information, and that someone had to be you."

"Sounds like you made a lucky guess," he said.

I shrugged. "Well, that makes two of us. You figured out who I really was, and that was a lucky guess. Now we're even."

After that, we didn't talk much. The farther we went, the more careful we became. We walked a bit slower, scanned our surroundings a bit more thoroughly, and made as little noise as possible. Both of us were very capable of moving almost silently in the snow, since it muffled our footsteps anyway, so we made no noise at all as we made our way north.

We began skipping back and forth across the tracks, moving from tree to tree, keeping our ears trained for any sound at all. Reinhardt went in front, and I followed him like a shadow, the two of us moving in unison through the trees, able to communicate our intentions without speaking. Any Nord with battle training knew how to sneak through the forest, even when there was a foot of snow on the ground, and the two of us crept along silently and swiftly, at times skipping along the top of the snow and barely marking it.

We followed the tracks but no longer walked along them, having moved farther back into the trees, plotting a parallel course. We fully expected that our quarry would be watching their own trail through the forest, expecting any intruders to follow their trail directly. So we stayed about a hundred feet to the side of their trail, rushing from tree to tree, making no noise and leaving as little evidence behind as possible. I had not utilized such skills for a very long time, but they came to be naturally and the feeling was exhilarating.

At one point, we broke through a grove of trees and found an opening, giving us a wide view of the sky. Reinhardt stopped, looked back at me, and simply pointed upward, moving his finger in a circle. I looked up and knew what he meant. In the distance, there was a sheen of gray sweeping across the sky farther to the north. It was a storm on the way, and I had a feeling it was going to be a big one. I could almost make out the storm clouds descending over the mountains.

This could be good or bad news. A blizzard could make it harder for us to travel, but it would also prevent our enemies from following or tracking us. It might also provide cover that would allow us to get closer. But regardless, we had to move fast.

We doubled our efforts, running from one tree to the other, keeping the trial in sight, and I could feel that we were getting close. We'd been on the move for almost three hours now, and the gradual increase in elevation was now obvious, as I could see the lower ridges of mountains not far up ahead. Far to our right, I could make out slanting rock faces coming up out of the ground. If our enemies were making camp, they would do it in this general vicinity, at the base of the mountains.

But I could also tell it was getting late. If we wanted to make it back to Raven Rock before dark, we would have to turn back soon. And now it was starting to snow, just a calm drifting of snow, but it was going to get worse. The sky was turning gray, and I could almost sense the impending blizzard coming down on us.

The forest opened up into a wide clearing just ahead, and Reinhardt motioned for me to stop as we crouched down behind a thick fir tree. I leaned out and looked across the clearing, seeing that the trail of footprints went straight through the clearing to the other side. But it was a perfect spot for an ambush.

And then I spotted someone sitting up in a tree on the other side of the clearing. He was tucked against the trunk, wearing a leather jacket the same faded brown color as the tree, casually smoking a pipe. He was positioned in such a way that he could see clearly across the entire clearing very easily, so anyone coming along the trail would be spotted immediately. He probably had a horn or a bell or some other way to sound an alert. Since Reinhardt and I had approached the clearing from far to the side of the trail, he did not spot us, and probably could not see us at all from our current position.

Reinhardt seemed to consider moving forward or heading back. The snow was falling more insistently now, getting heavier each passing minute. And it probably would be dark before we made it back already, so staying even longer was not advisable. And the man in the tree pretty much proved that their hideout was in this general area.

Reinhardt looked at me and made a simple gesture in the direction of the clearing, and I nodded in agreement. We would go around the entire clearing, avoiding the scout completely, in order to get closer to their hideout. We needed to see exactly what we were up against.

Going the long way around was not difficult, but it took more time. We skirted the edge of the clearing, skipping from tree to tree, keeping an eye out for more men on guard, but it seemed there was only one. We snuck past him with no problems and continued further into the trees, until we came up against a steep incline off to our left.

When we heard muffled voices up ahead, we got down and crept forward on our hands and knees, crawling through the snow. A thick, snow-covered log blocked our path, so we stopped there and carefully peeked out from behind it.

Another clearing was up ahead, at the base of a steep rock formation that stretched back for a ways and then swerved to the right, creating a dead end of sorts. The rock face flattened out about sixty feet up and then rose again to form the base of the nearest mountain. And at the base of this mountain was our destination.

There were about fifteen men standing around or milling about, all of them dressed in leathers and wolf-skin cloaks and jackets. Some of them had their hoods down, revealing faces that were certainly not Nord, although that hardly surprised us. There were a few campsites in place, with some benches and low tables, but no campfires were burning. We could also see some stacked crates and a few wagons.

We had found their hideout.


	34. Chapter 34

34

The snow was falling with more intensity and the wind had picked up. We were close enough to hear some of the men talking, and one of them said something about the cold before heading off in the direction of the rock face. We watched him and a few others walk up a steep path along the edge of the formation and then disappear inside.

There were caves in the rock face. That explained the lack of burning campfires or tents. It was good information to have, although unfortunately, it prevented us from knowing exactly how many men there were. For all we knew there were 500 men living in those caves.

Reinhardt nodded to himself and backed up slightly. It was time for us to go now, there was no doubt about that. It would be best to head back before the blizzard really started, and there was nothing else we could accomplish now.

I started to turn around, when suddenly I spotted two men trudging through the snow not far from us, walking through the trees in our direction. I grabbed Reinhardt's arm and he froze, seeing the men as well. They didn't see us yet, but they were walking steadily towards us, and pretty soon they would see our own tracks in the snow, giving away our position.

We were trapped. We couldn't try to hide from them, and we couldn't try to escape without bringing the entire enemy force on us.

I gripped the handle of my sword and looked at Reinhardt helplessly. He could only set himself and give a grim nod. We didn't have a choice, we would have to take them by surprise and hope that we could kill them without alerting the others.

I got to my feet and rushed forward as the men passed by some trees, giving me a brief moment of time when they couldn't see me. Reinhardt crept forward and braced himself behind a tree, raising his sword. We would get one shot at this.

Just as the two men got close to our tracks, one of them halted and said to the other, "Hey, what is –" Before he could finish, I leaped out from behind them and slashed my blade down on the back of his head, caving his skull in.

The other whirled around in a panic, yanking his sword free, and Reinhardt slipped out and swung his blade down furiously. Their blades clanged together and the man blurted out one terrified warning cry before Reinhardt slashed his blade across the man's stomach, gutting him. He flopped into the snow beside his comrade.

"Hey!" someone shouted from behind us. "Someone's there! Stop her!"

"Time to go!" Reinhardt said.

We bolted through the trees, hearing shouts and yelling behind us. I risked one quick glance over my shoulder and saw at least six men barreling through the woods after us, shouting for more men. But we had a head start, and I had hope that if we made it out into open forest, we could elude them long enough to get away. Reinhardt was ahead of me, and it seemed like they hadn't seen him yet, they had only seen me.

I heard the loud crunch up ahead of breaking branches, and suddenly a figure appeared on the trail ahead of us, a drawn bow in his hands. It was the guard who had been sitting in the tree. He had heard the commotion and come down to investigate.

With a snap, he fired an arrow and it whistled through the air. Reinhardt tried to dodge, but I saw him spin to the side, crying out in pain. I flew past him and covered the space between me and the archer in three steps, swinging my blade at him. He fumbled with another arrow and then threw the bow aside, drawing his sword. He blocked my first attack, but my momentum threw me past him and I spun around, slashing my sword across his arm, crippling him, and then swept the sword back, slicing through his chest.

Reinhardt staggered, holding up his arm, his face twisted in pain. The arrow had struck him right in the forearm of his sword hand and had gone right through his arm. A bloody arrowhead stuck out one side, with the fletching sticking out the other side. He grimaced and ran up to me, snapping the arrow with a groan of pain and yanking out the bloody shaft.

"Come on, I'm okay," he started to say.

"No," I interrupted quickly. "You have to get out of here. I'll hold them off long enough for you to get away."

"What? No, Sasha –"

"They didn't see you, they only saw me! You have to run for it! Get back to Raven Rock and tell them everything! Just go!"

He couldn't help me fight them off with a wounded hand, and it might slow him down. If we both tried to run, I didn't think we could get away from our pursuers now anyway. Our only hope was for Reinhardt to run for it while I distracted them, long enough for him to get away. The only ones who had seen Reinhardt were already dead, so it was possible he would not be followed, at least not immediately.

Reinhardt stared at me painfully, his mouth open, as he tried to think of something he could say. But I didn't give him the chance, I ran off in the other direction, toward our pursuers, leaving him standing there. I didn't look back, I could only pray that he listened to me and tried to escape while I charged our enemies and fought them off for a few short seconds. I had to give him time to escape. I jumped and sped along the trail, spinning my sword in my hand, running into certain death.

"There she is!" one of the men in wolf-skin cried in surprise. I leaped at him, bringing my sword down with all my strength. He blocked the strike, but I crashed into him, pushing the blade down to smash against his face. Then I was up again, spinning in a circle, slashing the sword across another man's stomach, splashing a spray of blood across the snow.

There were too many of them, they surrounded me instantly. But I moved blindingly fast, slashing and cutting, trying to break through, my sword moving like a blur. There were about fifteen of them, all closing in, murder in their eyes, slashing and stabbing as I tried to fight them all off at once. I killed at least two more before there was no room to move, no room to fight. They just squeezed in, until my sword was knocked free.

They came at me with their fists, pounding me down, knocking me to my knees, and then someone smashed me in the back of the head with his sword hilt.

I collapsed into the snow and blacked out.


	35. Chapter 35

35

I woke up face down in the snow. My hands were tied behind my back. I could taste blood in my mouth and could feel it dripping down my face from a gash on my forehead. I blinked away the disorientation and heard voices.

"We should just kill her now, Tarick"

"She killed Jascon and Bando, and Uncius too. What kind of crazy woman is that?"

"We got to take her back to the boss. I think he might want to see her."

I felt rough hands grab my arms and haul me up to my feet. Dizziness washed over me, but I remained standing, looking up at the ugly bearded face in front of me. The man leered at me, grinning with large gray teeth. He wore a dirty wolf-skin cloak and smelled awful, like he hadn't bathed in months.

"Nah," he grunted. "I don't care about the boss. I think I might keep this pretty little thing for myself."

"Just kill her and get it over with," another man grumbled.

The bearded one shook his head and reached up to rub my cheek with dirty fingers. "I don't know about you fellas, but I haven't had a good woman since we came to this stinking island. How about it, sweetie?"

I spat blood at him and bared my teeth. "Sure, go for it," I snarled. "How about you cut me loose and I'll do you real good."

He laughed and pushed me away. I stumbled into two others and they grabbed my arms, forcing me to walk forward. One of them yanked on my hair, pulling my head back. "After Tarick is done with you, I think I'll have a turn," he hissed.

The other one muttered. "Just shut up and let's take her back. We got to get inside before the storm gets worse."

The bearded man, Tarick, ordered some of the others to take the dead bodies back to camp. As they pulled me away, I realized that they didn't know about Reinhardt, and I almost couldn't believe it. If they took more time to see that there were two sets of footprints, or saw his blood in the snow, they would realize there had been two of us. But with the storm coming down harder, they didn't bother to check.

Reinhardt was going to make it. My sacrifice had meaning after all. Not that it did me any good right now, but I was grateful that he would make it back to Raven Rock. Of course, he probably thought I was dead, and he would have to pass that information onto Gaea when he returned. I didn't want to think about how she would take the news of my death, but my situation was not as bad as it seemed.

If I could stay alive for another day or two, it might be enough time for Cavorian to organize the Legion into a planned attack. Of course, this army of criminals and murderers must already be aware that their position was compromised, since anyone could follow their tracks from Raven Rock. They would be prepared for an attack. But they might not know about the reinforcements. If I could keep them from killing me long enough for the Legion to come to my rescue, I might still get out of this alive.

They marched me back through the woods to the clearing near the rock formation, and I saw that the snow was really falling hard now, swirling and twisting in the wind so that it was hard to see. The sky was getting dark, and soon the storm would hit with full force.

The men pushed me up the steep path along the edge of the rock face, laughing and mocking me the entire way, telling me all of the horrible things they planned to do as payback for the men I had killed. I struggled a bit, making them laugh harder, but I was too tired to fight. I just tried to keep my head and stay calm. I couldn't very well fight them with my hands tied, I would have to wait for the right moment.

I glanced back and saw the rest of the men were coming toward the cave as well, hurrying to get out of the snow. I was alone against fifty or more filthy scumbags and killers, and there was no way out. I was being brought into the lion's den.

The path went up about thirty or forty feet to a narrow ledge, and then the mountainside split into a cave leading downward. Smoke drifted from the mouth of the cave, and they pushed me inside roughly, knocking me against the wall.

"Careful with her now," Tarick said with a nasty look in my direction. "Don't bang her up too much."

"After what she did to Jascon, I should cut her up," the other man snarled, waving a knife in my face. "Should slash her throat and let her bleed."

"Maybe later," Tarick said. "After we're done with her."

They yanked me up again and forced me down into the narrow, winding tunnel of the cave. They had torches bolted to the walls and wooden planks over the floor in places to make it easier to walk. The rock walls were jagged and uneven, and smoke stained the ceiling.

As we continued, the cave split off in two directions. To the left, I could hear the loud babble of voices and smell food cooking. To the right, there was a narrow crevice in the rock leading to a room.

"In here," Tarick grumbled, leading me through the tight space. Up ahead there was a rather large space, lit with several oil lamps, containing some rickety tables and chairs and a few sleeping bags along the sloped rock wall. Beyond that I could see another tunnel in the rock that lead to a much larger space beyond.

There was a well-dressed figure sitting in one of the chairs, his legs crossed, leaning back to read some loose sheets of paper. He raised his head to glance up as we entered.

"Look what we found sneaking around outside," Tarick said to the man.

The man looked at me in genuine surprise and set the papers aside as he got up. "Sasha, is that you? My goodness, it certainly is unexpected to see you here," he said, and I found myself face to face with the East Empire administrator, Carnius Magius.


	36. Chapter 36

36

I was speechless for just a moment. "I should have known I'd find a lying scumbag like you in charge here," I said bitterly, although the shock of finding Carnius Magius here was not what I had expected at all.

"She was spying on us, "Tarick said. "Killed six of our men."

Magius looked at Tarick skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "She killed six men all by herself? Are you sure she was alone?"

"We didn't see nobody else with her."

"So you don't know," Magius said. "Maybe you should go and check."

Tarick stiffened. "The weather's got worse, it's snowing like crazy out there."

Magius looked at me. "Were you alone, Sasha?"

I said nothing, because it didn't matter. Magius seemed to know this, and then nodded and turned back to Tarick and said, "Send more men to go and look. Find out how many others there were, and hunt them down."

Tarick grumbled in annoyance and grabbed my arm. "You two," he muttered to the men holding me, "go and fetch Botta and Norles, and go look and see if you can find any more tracks, see if she did have anyone else with her."

"Sure thing, boss," one of them said with a sigh. They stomped off, leaving me alone with Magius and Tarick.

Magius crossed his arms and looked at me thoughtfully, giving me a condescending smile. Back before the Fort was attacked, Magius and I had hardly been friends. I barely knew him, but he always came across as a slimy, unlikable little twerp. Now, seeing him with this army of killers, my dislike for him grew. If my hands hadn't been tied, I would have strangled him.

"So, what are we going to do with you now?" he said rhetorically, rubbing his chin with one hand. "I'm afraid I am all out of ideas."

"I was hoping you might give her to me and the boys," Tarick sneered. He chuckled menacingly in my ear. "She killed some of our friends, I think we deserve some payback."

"Don't be ridiculous," Magius scoffed. "Your men allowed her to sneak right into our midst, and then six of them managed to get themselves killed in the process. And I'm certain that she wasn't alone, so you've likely allowed her accomplices to escape unharmed. You think I'm going to reward such incompetence?"

"Fine," Tarick growled, yanking on my arm. "Just give her to me then. I've been doing your dirty work out here for months. I deserve some extra compensation."

Magius shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Besides, our work is almost done. Once we're finished here, you'll be rich. You can go an buy yourself all the beautiful women you could ever want."

"Yeah, maybe, but I want this one."

"She's dangerous," Magius said, looking at me with an appraising eye. "If you turn your back on her for a second, she'd try to stick a knife in it. To be honest, I don't like the thought of her being here at all. It might be better to cut her throat and dump her in the snow."

"You want me to?"

"Well, not yet. It's not really my decision. Come, bring her along."

Magius led us across the room and through the rocky tunnel that led to another, much larger area. This cave opening was almost thirty feet square, with two long tables and some boxes and supplies scattered around. Lumpy stalagmites were grouped in the corner, where water dripped from above. A stack of swords and some other equipment was lying against the cave wall. On one of the tables, there was a sizable pile of black rocks, chunks of pure ebony stolen from the mine. There were two men on guard, standing by the entrance way, and they watched me closely as Magius led us into the room.

There was a man standing at the other end of the room, leaning casually against one of the tables as we entered. He wore jet black trousers and a red silk shirt, and when he laid his eyes on me, my breath caught in my throat.

I felt my heart drop out of my chest, and my legs wobbled. A rush of remembered pain and grief seemed to boil up, and I couldn't even speak. The whole world seemed to rush over my head, and I felt like I was about to faint.

The man standing before me was Falx Carius.


	37. Chapter 37

37

"Hello, Sasha," he said softly.

I stood there in shock, unable to speak, unable to even think. I just stared in utter disbelief, trying to make sense of it. Someone had pulled the world out from under me. Shock eventually gave way to confusion and bewilderment, which gave way to a dreadful feeling of hopelessness.

Tarick laughed and gave me a hard shove forward. I lost my footing and stumbled on the slippery rock floor, falling to my knees in front of Falx. I winced in pain and closed my eyes tightly, and let out a gasp as tears begin to roll down my cheeks.

"Be careful," Falx said sharply to Tarick. "There's no need for that."

Slowly, he knelt down in front me and rested his elbow on his knee, and gently brushed my hair out of my eyes. I tried to understand the look on his face. No shame, no guilt, perhaps just a hint of regret. He looked like a man who knew he was doing something terrible, but he didn't feel guilt about doing it.

"How could you?" I whispered, finally finding my voice. I could feel the tears dripping off my chin.

"It's complicated," he replied.

"Greed isn't that complicated."

"There's more to it than that," he said. "The ebony was just a bonus."

"Then why?"

Falx looked at me for a few seconds, and I tried to see something in his eyes, something that might remind me of the man I had known, the man I had cared for. And if I tried hard enough, I could see it. But it was deep down, buried under a tangle of other emotions, hidden away like a secret he wanted to keep. There was just a little bit of tenderness, just a fragment of kindness. But other than that, all I could see was cold resolve.

"I've spent my life serving the Legion," he said, his voice hard and bitter. "I've done everything they've asked of me, even if I didn't think it was right. I did so because of their promise of a better life, the opportunity to accomplish great things. The Legion is a force for what is good and right, they've always told us. But that's a lie. You know that as well as I do."

"So what?" I pleaded. "You could have been better that them."

"I've served the Legion for too long, and I've sacrificed too much," he went on. "And to repay me for my loyalty, what did they do? They sent me here, to this godforsaken wasteland, to keep watch over all the soldiers that they didn't know what else to do with. The rejects, the troublemakers, the washouts. At first, I thought maybe I was stationed here to whip them into shape. But then I realized that I was just another reject as far as they were concerned."

I shook my head. "And so you've gone and proved them right?"

"The Legion only cares about this island because of the ebony. This land doesn't even belong to them, it belongs to the Nords. They've forced there way here in order to strip this land of its wealth, all to make the East Empire company rich, and in turn, make the throne rich."

He angrily got to his feet and walked over to the ebony, picking up a huge chunk and holding it in his hand. "I've spent my life serving their greed. Maybe it's time I got to be the greedy one."

I struggled upright, getting my feet under me and standing up unsteadily. "And how many men have died because of your greed?" I said through clenched teeth. "How many innocent people had to die? How many more do you intend to kill? You can try to justify it all you want, but you're nothing more than a thief, and a murderer, and a liar."

"And what about you?" Falx said. "You think you can take the moral high ground? You're a liar too, aren't you? And you're a thief. And what about the people you've killed?"

"I've never betrayed anyone," I said, glaring at him. "And the only people I've ever killed were people trying to kill me."

Falx tossed the ebony back on the table and brushed his hands off. He walked over to me until we were almost face to face. "It all depends on your point of view," he said. "I'm sure there are people out there who would call you a murderer. You never told me the truth about your background, but I can make a pretty good guess. So don't act like we're so different. You fought for what you believed in, and now I'm fighting for something too."

He sighed and the look in his eyes softened, and he reached up to touch my face. I tried not to recoil from his touch as his hand wiped away my tears. "We don't have to be enemies," he whispered. "I don't want to hurt you. You have a choice. Stay here with me and I can make things better."

"How can I possibly trust you?"

"I saved your life," he said. "Why do you think I sent you off on that stupid errand the day we attacked the fort? I was trying to keep you safe."

"What difference does that make? You think I can forgive you?" I asked incredulously. "You think I can just forget what you've done?"

"You still have feelings for me. You and I could have been something wonderful, and we can be again. Admit it, you still care for me."

"No," I said weakly, shaking my head. "The man I cared for is dead."

Falx didn't react, and then he looked at the floor and pulled his hand away. He walked away from me and picked up a sword from the pile by the wall.

"Tarick," he said. "Cut her bindings. Set her free."

"Are you sure?" Tarick asked.

"Just do it."

Tarick came up behind me and cut a knife across the strip of leather tying my hands. I pulled my arms apart and held them against my chest, rubbing my wrists. Falx looked at me carefully and then down at the sword in his hands, and then tossed the sword onto the floor, where it clattered at my feet.

"Go ahead and pick it up," he said. "I'm not armed. If you don't care about me anymore, then pick it up and kill me."

He stood before me and spread out his arms. "Come on, go for it. I won't try to stop you. I know how good you are with a sword. You could probably kill me and Carnius and Tarick before the rest of the men finally took you down. You think I'm a monster, so go ahead and kill me, take revenge on all those that I've killed."

I let my arms hang at my sides and just stood there, staring at him. I could have done it, I could have killed him right then and there. Maybe he wanted me to. But I wasn't going to throw my life away for no reason. I wasn't going to sacrifice my life for him. He wasn't worth that.

After a few moments of tense silence, he lowered his arms, walked up to me, and picked the sword up from the floor. He tossed it back in the pile and then turned to face me, taking my face in his hand again, but this time more roughly. His eyes seemed to blaze with emotion now, as his controlled exterior began to fade. He stared at me longingly, and I felt his desire, his pain, his lust, his guilt. A swarm of emotions, barely kept in check.

"I'm giving you a choice," he said forcefully. "But this is the only time I'll offer it to you, so think long and hard about it. You don't owe the Legion anything, you don't owe the people on this island anything. You can just forget about them. Say you'll stay with me, and when we're finished here, we'll be so rich that we can go anywhere and do anything we want. We can be together, just you and me."

"What's my other option?" I asked coldly.

"You can choose to die here," he said. "I'll hand you over to Tarick and his men, and let them do what they want with you. Those are your choices. Me or them."

"How about you just kill me yourself?" I dared him.

"I can't do that," he said. "Now choose."

I looked him right in the eye and I could almost see his heart breaking. Falx was a sick man, a very sick man. Seeing him like this, I wondered how he had managed to hold it together for so long. He had certainly fooled me. But now, I could almost see the cracks from the emotional strain. It was tearing him apart. And I knew that I wasn't even the cause. All of this was set into motion long before I ever came to Solstheim.

His voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Please, Sasha. Do the smart thing."

I looked at him and shook my head in disappointment. "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction," I said. "You're no better than they are. It's not much of a choice at all, really. At least with them, I'll die quickly. Staying with you would be just a slow death."

I swung my hand up and slapped his hand away, and he stared at me in stunned disbelief, unable to grasp what had just happened. Finally, his expression hardened, and I could see his emotions slip back into hiding, leaving no trace of guilt or sadness or love. There was just the callous, ruthless man now.

Tarick grabbed my shoulder and I spun around to knock his arm away too. He growled and slammed his fist into my stomach. I crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Well?" he asked excitedly.

Falx looked at him with a blank look on his face. "She's all yours," he said. "Get her out of here."

"All right," he snickered victoriously. "Come on, princess. It looks like you're coming with me."

I decided that I'd had enough. They thought I was unarmed and defenseless, but they didn't know about my knives. Falx probably didn't even know that I carried them. I had been waiting for the right moment, and this was the best chance I was going to get.

I drew a knife from my boot and then leaped upward, pushing Tarick back and swinging the blade across his throat. His eyes bugged out and he staggered back, slapping his hand across his neck as blood began to spurt from his severed carotid artery.

I heard Magius shout something, but I was already spinning on my heel, ducking away from Tarick's flailing body. I hurled the knife with all my might at one of the guards by the entrance way. It struck him in the eye, and he shrieked once before toppling over backwards, his body going limp.

"No!" Falx cried.

I was already jumping forward, Magius stumbling to grab me. The other guard, momentarily frozen in surprise, suddenly reacted and swung his sword down at me. As the guard with the knife in his eye collapsed, the sword in his hand slipped from his dead grasp.

In one fluid motion, I plucked the sword out of the air and swung it up, just in time to deflect the clumsy strike from the other guard. I knocked his sword away, pushing him off balance, and then swirled around and swung the blade down, cutting through his arm at the wrist.

The severed hand, still holding the sword, flopped to the floor, and the man grabbed at his stump and screamed, blood squirting from the bloody wrist. He screamed in horror and fell back, tumbling into Magius.

"Stop her! Stop her!"

I was already running through the passageway and bursting into the other room, running as fast as I could. A man rushed into the room, sword drawn, and I slammed into him, driving my sword right into his stomach. He hit the floor and I jumped over him, immediately turning left to run for the exit.

Magius was screaming behind me, "Stop her! Kill that bitch!"

And I could hear Falx shouting too, "Sasha! Stop!"

I bolted down the narrow tunnel and could hear the rumble of footsteps behind me, as the entire cave full of soldiers stormed after me. Up ahead, I could see the cave exit. It was now a swirling white mass of snow, as the storm reached its peak. The cave opening was like a magical portal leading to freedom.

Two more guards in wolf-skin cloaks rushed at me, but the cave passageway was too narrow for both of them. One of them had to push the other aside, and I ran at him full speed, leaping forward with my sword outstretched. He tried to block it, but he only deflected it slightly, and it slipped between his ribs. My momentum carried both of us forward, and I tumbled over his body, doing a somersault as I yanked the blade free.

The other man tried to slash down at me, but his sword struck the cave wall and he missed. I rolled back onto my feet and just kept going, as the shouts and roar of pursuit filled the cave.

I hit the exit and took two steps onto the ledge, and then I leaped out into the storm.


	38. Chapter 38

38

The cave entrance was probably forty feet up the side of the mountain, but it was not a straight drop down. It was a steep incline, and I only fell about ten feet before I struck the rock and my body began to slide down to the ground. I let go of the sword and tried to balance myself, but I tripped on a jutting crack and tumbled head over heels before landing in a drift of snow at the bottom of the rock face. I held my breath, so as not to get the wind knocked out of me, and immediately began to scramble away.

Everything was white, my entire vision filled with a blinding wall of blowing snow. Above the howl of wind, I could hear shouting high above me.

"Go after her! Jump down there and kill her!"

I saw blurry shapes descending down the incline and braced myself as two of Falx's men came down after me. One of the men lost his footing and toppled down as I had done, and landed in the snow, flat on his back. Before he could get up, I jumped down on him and jammed a knife into his throat. Blood gushed up over my hands as I held him down, his arms thrashing.

In his death throes, I snatched his sword away and turned to face the other one, who was slowly getting to his feet. He lunged at me and I bashed his sword away, slashing back across his chest, and he flopped into the snow, quickly staining it red.

I didn't wait for more men to show up. Most of them ran down the path from the cave, not willing to risk a tumble down the mountainside. I ran off into the wall of snow, blindly running away as fast as I could. I knew what direction I was facing, and wanted to run south, but I also knew that would lead me right into the path of Falx's men as they came down from the cave. So instead, I had to run east, away from them, and hope that I could maybe loop around them without getting lost.

"Find her! That way! She ran that way!"

I blundered into one of the camp's unused fire pits, and tripped over a wooden bench. Getting to my feet, I could see the blurry outlines of men coming in my direction.

"I think she's over here!" one of them yelled.

I stumbled to my feet and ran desperately, just trying to make distance between me and my pursuers. The storm would hide me, as long as I got far enough away. They were all shouting, and to my dismay they were all to my right, which cut off my retreat to the south. As the wind whipped snow around me, I continued onward, finding myself entering a line of trees that shook in the wind, knocking more snow loose.

Even though I left footprints in the snow, it would be hard for them to track me since it was snowing so hard. And there were already plenty of tracks out here from the men who had been walking around before the storm hit.

"That way!" I heard Carnius Magius shouting. "Cut her off! Don't let her head south! Keep her where we can find her!"

"Damn it," I cursed, momentarily hiding behind a tree. I could see blurry shapes in the middle of the blizzard, as Falx's men fanned out around the clearing. I couldn't stay where I was, that much was certain. But I needed to figure out a way past them, as they were now blocking my retreat. Maybe I could just wait them out?

"Keep going!" Magius ordered. "Flush her out! Go into the trees!"

I braced myself, getting ready to run, when Falx's voice suddenly boomed out from the clearing, and I could not help myself but stay to listen.

"Sasha!" Falx yelled. "I know you can hear me! You have nowhere to run! We've surrounded you!"

I saw a figure moving toward me and I knew it had to be Falx. But I held on to the tree, forcing myself to remain still. If I was quick about it, I could run and and cut his throat before his men had time to stop me, but I wouldn't be able to get away again. I considered throwing one of my knives at him, but he was a blurry target and the wind would throw my aim off. And if I missed him or just wounded him, it would give my position away.

"You can't get away, Sasha! You try to run and you'll just freeze to death! If you come out and surrender, I promise I'll let my men kill you quickly! That's the only mercy I'm going to offer you!"

"No thanks," I muttered to myself. "I don't need your mercy."

I backed away and snuck through the trees, keeping low. Behind me, Falx shouted some more threats and promises, but the wind and the rattling branches above me drowned out his voice. With the trees to block the worst of the wind and snow, my visibility improved, but my enemies' visibility improved as well, so I remained cautious.

If I could get away, I could sweep south and hopefully make my way back to Raven Rock. It would be dark by then, but I could do it. I just needed to sneak past Falx's men, and right now they had me effectively cornered in the woods. It occurred to me that I still didn't know exactly how many men there were. Falx might have two hundred men searching for me.

"Come on, this way," I heard someone say, off to my right.

I ducked down as three burly soldiers in wolf skins passed along the edge of the trees, swords in hand, looking furtively in my direction. They didn't see me, but that didn't matter. I gritted my teeth in frustration, wishing I had not stayed to listen to Falx's promise of mercy. I should have just kept going, and now I was stuck.

"Come on out, you little bitch," one of the men snarled. "You think you're gonna get away that easy?" I could hear them coming as they shuffled through the snow.

I pressed my back into the trunk of the tree, and held the hilt of my sword tightly in both hands, trying to keep my breath steady. Snow fluttered down around me, the flakes melting when they touched my face, dripping down my cheeks like tears.

Three soldiers, in close proximity, and there was no way I would going to take them by surprise. Even if I killed two of them immediately, the third one would cry for help. I wracked my brain for some kind of strategy, but there was no way I could take them all on at the same time without one of them giving away my position. I had doubts that I could even take them all on without getting myself killed. My only other option was to try to sneak by them, and I knew that was also impossible.

Their stomping footsteps halted suddenly. I heard shouts in the distance.

"What's that?" one of them grunted. "Did they find her?"

"I dunno. Renger, head that way, maybe we passed her already."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, go back the way we came. We'll stay here. Don't worry, she ain't getting by us."

I almost couldn't believe my good luck, when I heard one of them walking away. Two men, I could handle, but I had to move fast. I could get away from them silently, without them seeing me, but it would take too long and I didn't have time to spare. At any moment, more men might come this way. My only other option was to kill them, although that created its own problems. I didn't have much choice though.

I took one fast glimpse around the tree and saw them standing about twenty feet away. If they had been smart, they'd be standing back to back, so they could see all their surroundings. But they weren't very smart. One of them was facing back in the general direction of the camp, and the other was facing to the side. I crept around the tree and drew a knife. I moved silently closer and then slipped behind another tree, giving myself a moment to ready myself.

I edged out from the behind the tree and took one running step, hurling the knife as I jumped closer. It struck one of the men right in the side of the neck and he gurgled in shock as he fell away. The other one had time to turn and raise his sword before I stabbed him through the back, the sword point sticking out of his chest. A cry for help died on his lips.

These bodies would mark my passage, showing my pursuers what direction I had gone in. They could just follow my tracks in the snow from here and chase me all across the island if they wanted to, so I had to get moving and get as much of a head start as I could.

I turned and ran deeper into the forest, no longer wasting any time or trying to be careful about it. I just had to run as far away as I could, even if it meant running headlong into the center of the storm. They knew I wanted to head south, back to Raven Rock, so they blocked my retreat, and once they found those bodies they would know exactly where I was headed. My only option was to go further north and further east, in the hopes that they gave up their pursuit or gave me up for dead.

So I ran on through the blinding snow and the bitter cold, right into the middle of the the raging snowstorm, hoping I could find safety there.


	39. Chapter 39

39

I stomped through the drifting snow for what felt like hours, my breath gasping out in puffs of white mist, moving blindly through the woods. I was hopelessly lost now, but I had no choice but to keep moving. The snow did not abate at all, and everything before me became one sweeping landscape of swirling whiteness that dulled to gray as night fell. Even if the blizzard finally wore itself out, the sky was still clouded, preventing me from navigating by the stars. I had no idea what direction I was traveling in, but I had to keep moving.

I had my arms crossed over my chest and my hands tucked under my armpits in an effort to keep my hands from freezing. I could still feel my fingers, but unfortunately I could barely feel my feet, and my face was also completely numb from the cold and the wind. I was also exhausted, having been on my feet almost the entire day, and hungry on top of that. But aside from that, I felt surprisingly good.

But the temperature was dropping like a stone, and soon it would be almost too hard to see. I felt like I could keep going for some time, even though I was tired and hungry, but the darkness and unbelievable cold would soon take their toll. On the other hand, I was certain that Falx and his men could not possibly be following me at this point. I had been walking for at least two hours, maybe more, and was miles from the camp by now. There was no way that any of his men would still be tracking me in the middle of the blizzard like this, since it was unlikely that they would be able to find their way back in the dark.

So I felt safe enough to stop and try to make camp for the night, but where? I had hoped to find a cave or something along the mountains, but so far I had seen nothing I could use for a shelter. I still had by flint sparker, so I could possible make a fire, but there was nothing to start a fire with except for snow-covered branches.

I found myself shuffling through snow up to my knees, and I stopped for just a moment to catch my breath. I could just barely make out a line of trees off to my right, and to my left the land sloped downward to what might have been a creek bed. But everything was buried under snow, and I couldn't go much farther before it was too dark to see.

I had barely managed to survive the first time I was lost out in the woods, and I didn't expect to get lucky a second time. I certainly wasn't going to stumble upon the fort this time. If I didn't stop and make a fire soon, it would be too late.

I stumbled over to some trees and kicked away the snow underneath the branches, kicking and digging until I found dirt and twigs. I tried to scoop some of the twigs and damp underbrush into a pile, and crouched beside it with my sparker, trying to light it. But the wind was too strong, and the tiny pile of kindling was too damp.

I angrily cried out, looking around for some other way. I needed some kind of shelter to block the wind, and find something to burn that was still dry, and neither of those things seemed to exist. Frustrated and beginning to get scared, I cried out once more, the wind tearing my voice away and throwing it into the storm. My hands were cold once more, so I tucked my sparker back in my belt and stuck my hands back under my arms to try to keep them warm. If my hands went numb, I had no hope at all.

I moved faster along the edge of the trees, hoping to find even something like a hollow log or even a hole in the ground. Anything to block the wind and give me some time to start a proper fire. But I couldn't find anything, and ran even faster, desperation creeping up on me.

But then I heard something. I spun around, hearing a strange clacking noise coming from out of nowhere. And then something echoed in the wind, and even though I was already freezing, somehow the fading sound made me feel even colder. It was a faint, high-pitched sound, like shrill laughter. And though I had never heard the sound before, I knew exactly what it was.

It was a spriggan, one of the mysterious treefolk. I panicked, turning around in a circle, trying to figure out what direction it was in, but I couldn't see anything. The forest fairies were defenders of the forest and spirits of nature, and they were extremely dangerous. I would sooner face a bear in combat than one of the spriggans.

I pulled out the sparker and frantically snapped it, creating brief flashes of light, but I could see nothing but the blowing snow. And then I snapped it again, and caught the reflection of something not far in front of me: a pair of red eyes seemingly hovering in the air.

I screamed and stumbled away, running as fast as I could in the other direction, nearly falling into the deep snow. Behind me, I could hear the spriggan's high-pitched laughter, and then the sound seemed to follow me. I stumbled along, heading downhill, running completely blind in the utter darkness. All I could feel was the cold on my face and the sound of my heart beating wildly as I ran through the blackness.

I heard the spriggan's shrill voice ahead of me somehow, and I frantically turned and ran in another direction, almost running face first into a tree. I staggered among more trees, somehow able to make out their shapes. I stumbled once or twice, falling to my knees, but the spriggan's laughter urged me up again. I didn't even feel cold now, as the adrenaline surge in my veins seemed to warm me.

I don't even know how long I ran, as each time I seemed to lose the spriggan, it appeared in front of me again, its grating laughter forcing me off in another direction. I realized with horror that there had to be more than one of them, and they had me surrounded. Once or twice I thought I could see its eyes glowing red in the darkness, or the outline of its thin, branch-like body, but for some reason, it never attacked me. It just kept appearing, as if it wasn't actually trying to hurt me and was only playing with me.

The forest fairies were almost always hostile, but I had heard vague stories that sometimes the spriggans helped people who were lost or in danger, though I never believed those stories. More often, the stories involved the spriggans cornering lost travelers and ripping them to pieces. But now, I couldn't help but think that maybe this one was trying to lead me somewhere, since it never attacked, even though I was weak and defenseless. Either that, or the spriggans were leading me into a trap.

I stumbled through some bushes buried under snow, and emerged into a clearing, wincing as the wind buffeted against me. But as I lifted my gaze, I could make out a huge, looming shape ahead of me, its dark gray outline a faint silhouette against the black sky. I staggered through the knee-deep snow until I was up against it, although I could not understand what I was seeing.

I thought it was a cave at first, but it wasn't a cave. It was a building of some kind, mysteriously out here in the middle of nowhere. But as I ran my hand along the surface, which was undoubtedly wooden, I realized that it was not shaped like a building at all. The outside was curved, and as I walked along the edge, I could see that the entire structure was crooked, like it had partially tipped over or collapsed.

I found an entrance, but it wasn't a door. Part of the structure was indeed collapsed, and I managed to crawl through a smashed section, with long broken beams of wood sticking out in all directions. Snow had drifted inside, but once I crawled past the entrance, I found a solid floor sloping upward.

With cold hands, I fumbled with my sparker, snapping it to provide brief illumination. The split-second of light revealed the inside of a large wooden chamber. Off to my side there were crates and broken barrels lying in a haphazard pile, like they had all crashed there when this building had collapsed. Using my sparker to provide flashes of light, I investigated the pile of broken crates and found a ragged, old net bunched up on the floor.

Relief poured through me as I yanked the net free and dragged it over to the entrance. I crouched down over it and used my sparker for a few minutes, until I managed to finally light a spark, and then the net began to flicker and crackle with the first few whisps of flame. I almost cried I was so happy, and I huddled close to the fire until the net was burning fully, warming my hands.

With the light of the fire, I dug through the wreckage of the crates and barrels, finding some more loose wood, straw, and fabric that I could burn, then I broke up the crates as much as possible to use for kindling. I built up the fire, making sure to keep it contained in the middle of the drift of snow, to keep the fire from spreading to the building itself. The smoke drifted up along the ceiling, but there must have been some opening up above me for the smoke to escape, because the interior of the building never filled with smoke.

When the fire was going strong, I climbed up along the slanted floor and found huge sheets of heavy cloth folded up and tied with rope, slumped against the wall as if it had been thrown there. As I unfolded some of it, I realized with a start that it wasn't regular cloth, it was a sail for a ship, or at least a section of one. Why this place would have shipping sail was completely beyond me, but nothing about this strange place made sense anyway.

I dragged the section of sail down nearer to the fire and used it as a blanket to wrap around myself. I curled up by the fire and tossed some more chunks of wood into the flames to keep it going.

I don't know why the treefolk had brought me here, but I wasn't going to argue. I looked past the fire, out through the broken wall, and thought I saw those twinkling red eyes floating out in the darkness, but maybe it was just my imagination.

Not long after that, I finally fell asleep.


	40. Chapter 40

40

The next morning, the blizzard was over. I awoke at dawn, as sunlight was just beginning to creep into the valley. I crawled outside, hesitantly at first, wondering if any spriggans were out there waiting for me, but they were nowhere in sight. There were no footprints in the snow either, but I didn't even know if spriggans left footprints.

I walked out into the clearing and then got my first good look at the strange building I had spent the night in. But my confusion only grew when I realized that it was not a building at all, not some half-collapsed church or hunting lodge, as I had suspected.

It was a boat. A huge sailing vessel, complete with mast and tattered sails, although it was in no condition to sail anywhere now. It was currently tilted at a steep angle, smashed up against some rocks and leaning against a hillside. I had spent the night in the lower galley, exposed from the broken hull, which explained the sail cloth, netting, as well as the crates the barrels. The boat was a wreck, but it wasn't even that old, and I guessed it had only been there perhaps a year.

Had some lunatic managed to cast a levitation spell on an entire ship? Sometimes ambitious wizards attempted such spells, but they rarely worked for long. It was the only possible explanation for this mystery. And whatever crew had worked on this ship was long gone now anyway, so there was no one to ask.

It didn't really matter. Whatever strange set of circumstances had brought this ship here, it was nothing short of a miracle for me, because without that shelter I might not had survived the night. Now that the snowstorm was over and the sun was coming up, it was time for me to get moving.

My best option was to head straight south until I hit the coast, and then head east until I found Fort Frostmoth. But I wondered if it might be easier to go straight east until I found the Iggnir River and then went south. I knew I couldn't exactly get lost, now that I knew what way I was facing, but I wanted to get back by the shortest possible route. The problem was that I didn't know how far north or west I was from the fort. For all I knew, I was north of the village of Thirsk by now, I really had no idea.

I decided to head east. I knew the Iggnir River went almost directly north from the fort almost all the way across Solstheim, so there was no way I could miss it. And it was likely that I was currently closer to Thirsk anyway, so I could stop there to get food and maybe some help. The Nords there had no love for me, but they would not turn me down.

And after that, I had to figure out exactly what I was going to do next. I had to get back to the fort and tell them what I had discovered. Reinhardt would have already informed the Legion about the men who had attacked Raven Rock and where their hideout was, but no one but me knew that Falx Carius and Carnius Magius were now our enemies. Captain Cavorian absolutely needed to know that information, and so did the Imperial Legion.

Falx might get away with it if everyone thought he was dead, but if the Legion knew he was responsible, they would put a price on his head and he would not find it so easy to escape that.

I hurried along as quickly as I could, heading directly east for most of the morning. I was hungry and tired, but once the sun came out, I stayed reasonably warm as long as I kept moving. Once I made my way to Thirsk, I could get something to eat and I would feel much better.

Of course, it was likely that Skjoldr Wolf-Runner would not be very happy to see me, considering what had happened last time I visited his village. I had challenged one of his warriors and killed him in open combat. It was all fair and square, and Wolf-Runner had accepted my victory and let me leave without any problems, but I doubted that I would exactly me welcome there. But they would not turn a hungry traveler away, I was sure of it.

Luckily, I did not run into anything on the way there. I didn't see any wolves or bears, or even more fortunately, any berserkers. I was unarmed except for one knife, and I did not think I would fair well in a fight. I didn't see any spriggans either, but I guess that didn't surprise me. Whatever unfathomable reasons the spriggans had for saving my life, they decided to leave it at that, and I had no more contact with them.

The sun was high in the sky by the time I stumbled onto the Iggnir. I had expected to find the river earlier, but it turned out I had been farther west than I thought, and now I had spent half the day walking, and I was pretty much exhausted. I sat down on a rock and caught my breath. I had done more than my share of walking the past few days, and I felt that if I never had to walk anywhere ever again, it would be too soon.

There were no landmarks to indicate how far north or south I was along the river, so I didn't know if I was closer to the fort or Thirsk. But I was probably closer to the village, so I just decided to start walking north.

It turned out to be the right decision, because Thirsk was not far at all. Barely half an hour later, I crested the top of a low ridge and found myself looking down into the small clearing where Thirsk lay.

The village remained as I had left it a few days before. There had not been much snow here at all, and I could practically make out the footprints in the snow that Mirisa and myself had made when we had left.

Smoke drifted up from the mead hall's two chimneys, and the other, smaller buildings nearby were equally in use. I could hear banging coming from the blacksmith shop, and I could even hear the murmur of voices coming from the mead hall. I sighed wearily and headed down into the village, hoping that no one recognized me on my way in, although that did not seem likely. Hopefully, they saw me for what I was: nothing but a tired, hungry traveler in search of a meal and a warm fire.

As I approached the mead hall, I got the strange feeling that something was wrong. I could hear raised voices inside, and hurried my pace a bit until I reached the front door, where other people were already milling around, peeking in through the open doors. There was angry shouting and uncomfortable grumbling from the crowd inside.

"What's going on?" one of the women in front of me asked nervously.

"It's Anjolnr," one of the guards said in a low voice. "He wants to strike against the Legion while they are weak. I think he's going to challenge the Chief."

I pushed forward and squeezed through the people blocking the door. "Excuse me, excuse me," I muttered, forcing my way inside, eliciting a few comments.

I snuck along the edge of the doorway and emerged into the mead hall. Ahead of me, there was a large crowd of people standing around, facing the clan chief's throne at the head of the main room. I grabbed a mug of mead from one of the tables and gulped it down in one swallow, feeling it burn down my throat. And then I stood up on one of the benches to get a better look at what was going on.

"We have put up with them for too long!" a blonde-haired warrior shouted, stabbing a finger at Skjoldr Wolf-Runner, who sat in his throne, leaning forward intently. The warrior, the one named Anjolnr, was dressed in bearskin, with thick metal bracers on his wrists, and a long-handled axe strapped over his back.

"They don't belong here!" Anjolnr insisted. "For years, we've sat back and let them dominate us, like a bunch of tired old men! But now, they're weak! We should take this chance to get them off our land once and for all!"

A handful of people in the crowd, mostly the young men of fighting age, murmured their agreement. But most of the others, the women and the older warriors, were not very impressed, and did not agree. Skjoldr Wolf-Runner, resting his elbows on the longsword balanced across the arms of his throne, stared harshly at Anjolnr, his expression grim.

It looked like I had arrived in Thirsk just in time.


	41. Chapter 41

_Hello everyone, I hope that some of you are still reading this far. This novel is now getting to the last few chapters as the story builds up to the big finale, so I hope everyone likes how the story is going. I'm not sure exactly how many chapters are left, maybe eight or ten? Anyway, just a heads up that we are nearing the end. I would love to hear what you all think of it so far, so please leave a review if you can, thanks!_

41

"We should be on the move right now!" Anjolnr said fiercely, glancing around at the people gathered to hear his argument. "We should strike the enemy while they are weak, not stay away like we're afraid of them!"

"They aren't the enemy," Skjoldr said firmly, his deep voice carrying all the way to the front of the mead hall. "They do nothing but sit in their little fort, and they leave the rest of the island to us. They are nothing, so why should we waste our breath on them?"

"They cannot be trusted!" Anjolnr insisted, jabbing his finger forward to emphasize his point. His bright blue eyes blazed with energy, and I could feel the passion in his voice. The other warriors were enamored with him, and I could sense that Skjoldr was already losing this argument.

"The Imperial Legion has never been an ally of the Nord people! Everyone knows this, all the way to Skyrim they know this! If we let them stay here, it will only make them bolder."

"But they have been here for years, as you said yourself," Skjoldr said quickly, cutting him off. "That fort was built when you were still suckling on your mother's breast, Anjolnr, and ever since then, the Legion men there have done nothing but shiver in the wind."

"Yes," Anjolnr said with a knowing nod. "But that was before they found their precious ebony in the mountains. The greed of the Imperials knows no bounds, and now that they have found ebony, they will come for more of it. Everyone knows this."

All around me, I could feel the gathered crowd nodding and whispering their agreement to each other, and the entire room seemed to shift in Anjolnr's favor. By the look on his face, he knew it as well, and he jumped forward to cement his advantage.

"But they are weak now! They grew fat and lazy, and a band of criminals managed to almost wipe them out completely! We should go down there and finish the job!"

"Do you think it will be that easy?" Skjoldr snapped, gripping the handle of his sword. "You haven't even been tested in battle! The Legion will not just lie back and let us sweep their army into the sea. They will come back with ten times as many men, and those men won't be like the pathetic rejects that were stationed at the fort. They'll be the strength of the Legion, from the heart of Cyrodiil itself."

"Then let them come! This is our land, this is our honor at stake!"

"The honor of Nords is not so weak that a group of lazy Imperial thugs could ever threaten it," Skjoldr said.

I understood now why Wolf-Runner was the clan chief here. Outsiders rarely got the chance to see internal Nord politics at work, and many probably suspected that the strongest warrior in the village became clan chief by default. But even the Nords valued intelligence and cold logic, and a clan chief had to be a master of words as well as a master of weapons. Skjoldr, it seemed, had earned his authority in Thirsk.

Anjolnr was momentarily taken aback, although the crowd was still mostly on his side, and he quickly recovered. "Every minute that those Legion troops remain on our shores, our honor is being stripped away. And you mock me for not being proven in battle, when you are the one who chooses not to go to battle in the first place! Here you have an entire room of brave warriors, and you do not use them! And then you mock them for not facing battle!"

I clenched my teeth and glanced back across the faces of the spectators, and could see that more and more of them were going over to Anjolnr's side. Skjoldr won a brief respite, but he was losing this debate, and soon it would be obvious. I climbed down from the bench and began to inch forward through the crowd.

"So tell me this, Anjolnr," the clan chief said harshly. "If you are so eager to face the Legion in battle, why is it that you never made these grand claims when the Legion fort was still at full strength? Do you only wish to fight against an enemy that is little more than a sitting duck? Is this the great battle you wish me to send my warriors on? You wish to prove your worth in battle by attacking a bunch of weak, wounded men and unarmed cultists? Killing those who can barely defend themselves isn't bravery, it's cowardice."

Anjolnr reeled back as if he'd been slapped, and I winced myself at the unbelievable insult that Skjoldr had just thrown at him. Suggesting that a Nord was a coward was the most grievous insult you could give him. I commended Skjoldr for twisting Anjolnr's words like that, but it was act of a desperate man, trying to win the argument by force of will.

"Cowardice?" Anjolnr spat. "You're content to remain here, warm and comfortable, unwilling to face our enemies, and you dare call me a coward? Those stinking criminals who attacked the Legion have shown more bravery then you ever have! Are we going to let trash like that fight our battles for us from now on? It is a sad day when proud Nords sit back and let the Legion steal their land and their wealth, and let a bunch of thieves and criminals do all the fighting!"

"You agree with the criminals now?" Skjoldr shot back. "Maybe you should go join them! They dressed in furs and wolf skins to trick the Legion into thinking that we were responsible for the attack!"

"Maybe we should have defended our honor and our homeland in the first place!" Anjolnr shouted passionately. "And if the Legion could be ignorant enough to fall for such a trick, then we could never trust them anyway! When that girl came here to tell us about the attack, she warned us that the Legion might come here seeking vengeance upon us! Remember that? The Legion already believes we are their enemy, and still we do nothing!"

With a start, I realized that Anjolnr was talking about me. Urgently, I shoved forward, apologizing insincerely, and pushed my way through the crowd until I pushed out right in front. I stepped in front of the onlookers, right in the middle of the area where Anjolnr was giving his speech, in front of Skjoldr's throne. He stopped in mid-sentence and stared at me in disbelief.

"Are you talking about me?" I asked, glaring at him.

Voices began to speak up in surprise, but Skjoldr silenced them all as he slammed his fist on the arm of his throne. "What in the hell do you think you're doing here?" he growled at me, eyes blazing.

The mead hall was completely silent except for the sound of nervous breathing, and all eyes were on me. I ignored the eager crowd as well as Anjolnr, who stood angrily a few feet away. Right now I only had time for Skjoldr.

"The mining camp at Raven Rock was attacked by the same men who attacked the fort," I said simply, not sure where else to begin. "They killed many innocent miners and other people there. The Legion followed their trail and discovered where they are hiding. Like you said, they were hiding in the mountains. The Legion knows where they are now, and the Legion also knows that the Nords were not responsible for the attack."

"That changes nothing," Skjoldr said darkly.

"They have also received their reinforcements from Vvardenfell," I continued. "The fort is at almost full strength now."

I managed a sideways glance at Anjolnr, who stared daggers at me as he stood among his fellow warriors. Each one of them probably wanted to cut me down in cold blood, for several reasons. But Skjoldr Wolf-Runner merely nodded, as if to himself, although his expression did not soften. He had no love for me either, but he wasn't stupid, and he knew that he would have eventually lost to Anjolnr if I had not shown up. For the moment, at least, he and I were allies.

And Skjoldr was a smart one indeed. He also understood immediately that I had handed him an opportunity to solve both problems at once. "So," he said thoughtfully, "If the Legion has located their enemies, then they surely must intend to track them down and destroy them?"

"Yes," I said.

He peered up at Anjolnr. "You men want me to send you to war? Perhaps you can prove yourself in battle against the true invaders to our island, our real enemies."

"We have no proof of any of what this girl says," Anjolnr said, waving his arm dismissively, stalking toward me. "She's not one of us, and she works with the Legion, she's admitted as much! We already know that she wishes to prevent a war between the Legion and the Nords, isn't that right?" he asked, staring right at me.

"That's correct," I said calmly. "I do wish to prevent war."

"See? She admits it!" Anjolnr said with a laugh, and the crowd began to swing in his direction once more. "And now she shows up unannounced, just in time to tell us that the Legion no longer seeks to harm us? How convenient!"

"Are you calling me a liar?" I asked, my voice low.

Anjolnr hesitated uncertainly, but shrugged it off and called to the crowd. "We don't even know who this girl is! She might have been born a Nord, but she's not one of us! She's done nothing but defend the Imperial Legion each time she opens her mouth. Why should we trust anything she has to say?"

He probably didn't have to make his point so forcefully, since it was clear to me that most of the crowd already didn't trust me, and they were more than willing to go along with what Anjolnr wanted. I was an outsider as far as they were concerned, and nothing I was going to tell them would change their mind. Skjoldr looked at me for just a moment, and what little help I had given him was now erased. In fact, my support of Skjoldr would now be nothing but a detriment to him.

I didn't want to do this, but now I didn't have a choice. Anjolnr paced back and forth in front of Skjoldr's throne, basking in his victory, and he turned to face me, a mocking smile on his handsome face.

"You want to know who I am, Anjolnr?" I said loudly, my voice silencing some of the growing noise. "You really want to know? Well, you're in luck, because I'll tell you."

His smile wavered, and I could almost feel his uncertainty mirrored by the crowd at my back. Behind him, Skjoldr leaned forward, staring expectantly at me.

"My name is Sasha Snow-Crown!" I cried out defiantly. "My father was Orden Snow-Crown, a man that some of you might know as the Snow Wolf! And I've waged war against the Imperial Legion more than you will ever know. And I've paid for that in ways you can't even imagine."


	42. Chapter 42

42

The entire room seemed to explode into shouts and cries of surprise and disbelief, like a whirlwind erupting over my head. Everyone was shouting at once, the villagers and the warriors combined, and I could hear only snatches of voices amidst the chaos. Anjolnr looked at me in abject shock, and his warriors seemed unsure of what to do. I returned their distrustful gaze without flinching.

"Silence!" Skjoldr bellowed, standing up, and the babble of voices died down. He glared at me and said, "That's impossible, you can't be the daughter of the Snow Wolf. She was sent to prison after the rebellion."

"I was sent to prison," I confirmed, "and I spent four long years there. But I am Snow-Crown's daughter, and that means that I am the only person in this room who has any right to talk about waging war against the Legion."

"Prove it!" Anjolnr blurted out. "You expect us to believe such ridiculous nonsense? You claim to be Orden Snow-Crown's daughter, then give us some proof!"

In one fluid motion, I swung my arm down, snatched my remaining knife from the top of my boot, and then hurled the blade through the air. It whistled within inches of Anjolnr's face and struck the wooden pillar right behind him with a loud crack. His men flinched in surprise and fumbled for their weapons, but none of them drew.

"Do you want more proof? I could have put that knife right between your eyes if I had wanted to," I snapped violently. "Have you forgotten that I challenged one of your men and how easily I defeated him? Everyone in this room knows what I am capable of. Is there anyone here who would doubt me?"

No one said anything. Anjolnr lifted his hand to his face, his eyes wide with shock, feeling to make sure the blade hadn't cut half his face off. One of his men tentatively reached up to pull the blade out of the pillar, but it was stuck too far. He had to pull with all his strength to yank the blade from the wood.

I turned slowly, studying the faces around me. Most of them looked confused, worried, or scared, but I caught the look of understanding in some of their eyes. A few of the older Nords returned my gaze knowingly, perhaps seeing in me what they had heard about my father all those years ago. Or maybe they just were willing to believe.

My father's war against the Legion and the Imperial Throne started before I was born. For years, the Legion had moved repeatedly into Nord territory along the Skyrim/Cyrodiil border, sometimes justifying their expansion into Nord land by claiming the need for increased patrols to deter criminal activity. But too often, they instigated violence and then increased their presence in order to combat such resistance.

The High King of Skyrim, Gonthmun, was at the mercy of the ruling Jarls, and could not establish enough control to provide a united front against the Imperials. The Imperial Throne was forever at odds with the High King, and the infighting amongst the Jarls made it easy for the Imperial Throne to enforce its position. The sad truth of the matter was that the inability of the High King and the Jarls to properly govern Skyrim's borders was what led to the border skirmishes in the first place. But the cause of the conflict was less important than the effect.

Legion outposts were attacked and vandalized, and in return, rogue Legion troops, or possibly even hired criminals, burned down Nord villages. Innocent people died, and the beginning of the rebellion was begun. And at the center of that rebellion was my father.

My mother died when I was just a baby, so my father raised me himself, teaching me how to use a sword and throw a knife. He raised me to fight beside him, and that's what I did for most of my youth. After years of growing resistance and rebellion against the Legion, my father became known among the Nords as the Snow Wolf, and the Legion placed a hefty price on his head to no avail.

My father's ultimate act of defiance, and also his final one, was when he raised an army and waged open war against the Imperial Legion. The High King and the ruling Jarls, unwilling to risk all-out war with Cyrodiil, were forced to name my father a traitor. They refused to acknowledge the rebellion and disavowed all connection with those who joined, essentially leaving us to the mercy of the Imperial Throne.

As I had learned from Captain Cavorian, our fateful battle became known as the Snow-Crown Rebellion. Our plan had been to attack and decimate an entire army of Legion soldiers sent in to squash the rebellion, but one of my father's trusted commanders gave away our plans in return for protection from the Legion. In the aftermath of the failed battle, my father and the rest of his commanders were all executed. I would have been executed as well, but I was a woman and still young, so they threw me in prison instead.

"If you are Sasha Snow-Crown," Skjoldr said gravely, his voice cutting into the tense silence, "then you should be with Anjolnr, calling for war against the Legion. You fought them with your father, you have more reason to hate them than any of us. Why should you defend them?"

"I'm not defending them," I said firmly. " But I never hated the Legion. I hated the men who invaded our land and burned our villages and killed our people. Yes, it's true that those men were part of the Legion, and my father waged his war against them. But not all men from the Legion are guilty of the crimes that those men were."

"They are members of a corrupt organization," Anjolnr said harshly. "They are as guilty as the rest."

"Are all Nords guilty of the crimes of the few?" I replied. "One of your own men kidnapped and raped an innocent woman. Does that mean the Legion should come here and punish everyone because of what one man did?"

"That's not the same," Anjolnr said, but he did not bother to explain.

"Have the soldiers at Fort Frostmoth ever done anything to you?" I asked. "What have they done to earn your hatred? I've spent weeks living at the fort, and I can tell you that the Legion soldiers there want nothing more than to leave Solstheim. They all hate it here, and none of them have any wish to confront the Nords. Like Wolf-Runner said, all they do is stay at the fort and mind their own business."

I faced the crowd of onlookers once more. "Listen to me," I said. "It's true that I fought against the Legion, but that's because I had a cause to fight for, and I would fight them again in a heartbeat if there was a reason to do so. But right now, you have no reason to wage war against them."

I continued: "The Legion is not your friend and it is not your enemy. Right now, they are just your neighbor. If they ever dared to invade your villages or attack your people, then I would be the first person to call you to arms against them. But they are not doing that. I've spent time with them, and I think that many of them are good people. But if you seek to make them an enemy, then they will be the most terrible enemy you will ever face. If you seek war against them, then you will be the aggressor, not them. And I have already seen one too many wars with the Legion end in misery. I do not wish to see another."

I didn't know if anything I said would make a difference. They had only listened to me because of who my father was, but that didn't mean they were going to agree with me. Resentment against the Legion ran deep, as I knew better than anyone.

Skjoldr Wolf-Runner studied me carefully, sitting back in his throne. His hand casually swept along the handle of his sword, and then he gripped it decisively and rose to his feet. He stepped down and walked toward the crowd, seemingly towering over them. I had not realized how tall he was, but he must have reached six and a half feet tall. He looked down at me briefly, but then spoke to his people, his voice deep and imposing.

"You know what I believe," he said. "You know how I feel. You know I have no love for the Legion. But they have done nothing to us. I do not know if this woman is who she says she is, but I think she is right."

He paused for effect, and looked over to his warriors, who had all gathered to one side of the crowd, behind Anjolnr and his supporters. "I will not allow any of you to raise arms against the fort or the Legion. If any of you wish to challenge my authority, now is the time to do it."

But Anjolnr merely shook his head and looked away, ending the confrontation completely. I supposed that Anjolnr might face some loss of respect among his peers for standing down, but Skjoldr would probably give him added authority to soothe his ambition. Anjolnr would have his day eventually and they both knew it. He would probably become clan chief someday.

"But we still have an enemy that we must face," Skjoldr continued evenly, accepting Anjolnr's submission without comment. "The criminals and invaders who attacked the Legion sought to blame us for their actions. They wished to start a conflict between us in order to cover their tracks, like the cowards they are. If anyone deserves the wrath of our vengeance and the edge of our swords, it is the ones who would seek to blame us for their crimes."

Skjoldr waited a moment to gather his thoughts, and I took the chance to add, "They are nothing but mercenaries, hired to fight and kill for someone else's greed. And they have not just attacked the Legion, they also attacked the innocent workers at the ebony mine, and those people were unarmed and unprotected. Any mercenary who would strike down unarmed men who can't even defend themselves is deserving of our contempt and hatred."

This struck to the heart of Nord philosophy. As Cavorian had himself explained unnecessarily to me, it was strongly against Nord culture to attack those who could not defend themselves. A true Nord only fought against a worthy opponent. Honor was paramount in combat. Fighting against unarmed civilians was cowardly and disgraceful, and the thought of someone killing indiscriminately like that, and then seeking to blame the Nords for those deaths, was enough to make any Nord furious.

Skjoldr raised his voice as the crowd began to cry out. "It is time to raise our swords! Let us fight for our reputation and our honor! If this band of cowards wishes to bring the Nords into a war, then so be it! Let us bring the war to them!"

All around, the people screamed and shouted in agreement. Even Anjolnr seemed caught up in the moment, and he lifted his sword, crying out for justice. I let their words and their passionate energy wash over me, but I could only sigh and close my eyes, a relieved smile forming on my lips. I almost couldn't believe it, but I had done what I had set out to do. Despite all the setbacks and problems, somehow things were falling into place. Maybe, just maybe, things were going to work out in the end.


	43. Chapter 43

43

"It will not take long for us to prepare," Skjoldr said to me a little while later. I had requested something to eat and drink, and someone had quickly handed me a plate of bread and stew and a glass of mead, which I dug into ravenously. I had not eaten in over 24 hours and needed to eat something before we left.

"I want to thank you," I said. "For doing the right thing."

"There is no need," Skjoldr said soberly. "Perhaps I should thank you for showing us what the right thing was. I do not think I could have prevented Anjolnr from confronting the Legion soldiers if you had not arrived when you did."

"It was lucky for me, that's for sure."

"Exactly how did you get here? I know you didn't come from the fort, but you aren't carrying any supplies or even a weapon."

As quickly and succinctly as I could, I explained to Skjoldr what had happened to me the day before. I told him about Reinhardt and I locating the mercenary camp, and then my capture and escape, and my travel through the snowstorm. I left out a few details that would be too hard to explain, such as the arrival of the spriggans to lead me to safety. Instead, I simply told him that I found a cave and managed to start a fire there.

"Few people could survive a night alone out in the wasteland," Skjoldr said, almost in awe. "If you were anyone else, I might think you were lying."

"I'm not superhuman," I said. "And I'm not half the person that my father was, so don't think that I could ever do what he did. I don't think I can live up to his memory."

"But you're the Snow Wolf's daughter. Many people look up to him, and they will look up to you as well. Why did you keep it a secret from us?"

"I didn't know if you would believe me. And I can't let anyone from the Legion find out who I am, or they'll probably try to send me back to prison."

"Did you escape?"

"No, I was set free, but they gave me a task I was supposed to perform. I ran away instead, so I'm sure they're looking for me."

Skjoldr laughed shortly. "They set you free? They must not have realized how important you are to the Nord people. Your father was a brave man, a hero, even if he did not succeed. If you are here, you could be a symbol to the people like he was."

"I don't think I'm ready for that," I admitted.

"We shall see."

Not much later, Skjoldr's warriors completed their preparations, and all of us got ready to leave the village. They had sent runners to the nearby villages, and already some of them were coming back with word that more warriors would be coming. Skjoldr organized his force, which amounted to thirty-five able-bodied men wielding axes and swords and dressed in heavy furs and leather armor.

They handed me a powerful short sword and a sturdy wooden shield, and I also replaced my jacket with a heavier leather coat that would also provide more protection. I strapped on a metal helm and added metal bracers to my forearms, but I chose not to wear any other armor, since it would weigh me down too much. I also found some suitable knives and tucked them away on my person.

The fort was half a day's march away, and it was already past midday, so we would probably arrive right around nightfall. Skjoldr gathered his men and a few late arrivals from the nearest villages, and we set out immediately. At first we walked at an average speed, but then Skjoldr had us increase our pace. Soon, we were marching quickly along the river and I fell in with the pace of the others. I was still tired from walking all morning, but my short rest and hasty meal in Thirsk had reinvigorated me, and I felt comfortable enough.

I noticed Anjolnr beside me. "I don't believe that you are Sasha Snow-Crown," he said casually, keeping his gaze forward as we marched.

"I'm not asking you to," I replied.

"Skjoldr believes you, though," Anjolnr added. "And so do many of the others. They think it is a sign."

"A sign of what?"

"I don't know. Maybe a sign that we are destined to defeat the Legion eventually. That doesn't make much sense to me, though."

"I don't put much faith in signs anyway."

Anjolnr frowned a bit and then said, "It doesn't matter anyway. I don't really care who you are or why you're here. All I wanted was for our chief to take action for once. We've been content to stay safe in the village for too long. Any longer and we would have grown soft. We are finally taking the fight to our enemies."

"We aren't going to fight the Legion, like you wanted."

"Not this time," Anjolnr said. "But there will come a time, not far from now, when we will take action against them as well. We will send all the invaders away, and keep Solstheim only for the Nords. It is inevitable."

"Maybe," I agreed. "Or maybe you could convince them to leave the island on their own, without having to go to war with them."

"Not likely," Anjolnr scoffed.

I nodded. "You're probably right. Maybe it's been a stroke of luck that the Legion hasn't tried to control more of Solstheim so far. Maybe they've just been holding back."

"They will send more people here because of the ebony mine," Anjolnr predicted. "They'll try to build a larger colony, perhaps some additional villages, they'll build a larger port leading to the Legion fort, and pretty soon we'll face an entire Imperial city spreading across the entire southern half of Solstheim."

"It won't get that far," I said.

Anjolnr nodded. "You're right. It won't, because the Nords will not allow it. Have you been to the villages where the Skaal live?"

"No, I haven't. But I've heard of them."

"They are fanatics. They despise the Legion intruders far more than we do, but the only thing keeping them from trying to push the Legion fort back into the sea is the fact that they are so isolated in the north. But if the Legion attempted to expand their presence on Solstheim, the Skaal would not stand for it. There will almost certainly be open war."

"You don't have to convince me of anything," I said. "I already told you that I'm not here to defend the Legion. They've committed horrible crimes in Cyrodiil and in Skyrim, and I'm not foolish enough to think they won't commit the same crimes here on Solstheim if given the opportunity. And if that happens, you can wage war with my blessing."

"Are you really Orden Snow-Crown's daughter?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes," I said.

"What was he like? No one on Solstheim ever met him, of course. We only heard the stories about what happened."

"He was a fanatic, like the Skaal," I said matter-of-factly. "He hated the Legion and the Imperial Throne with every fiber of his being. But like I said, he had good reason for that. The Legion burned Nord villages and killed innocent people. It was a long time ago, though. When I was still just a child."

"What would he think about you now, if he was here?"

I had not really though of that. After he had died, I had made up my mind not to live the rest of my life for him. Spending four years in prison had been enough to convince me that if I ever got the chance to live free again, I would live my life for myself alone. I loved and respected him, and I had done everything in my power to make him proud of me when he was still alive. And I had fought for him whenever he had asked it of me.

But he was gone now, and those years of rebellion and war seemed to have happened a lifetime ago to a completely different person than who I was now. I had my own beliefs and my own goals now, and I realized that they conflicted rather strongly with what my father had believed.

"I think he would be disappointed in me," I said honestly. "He would have wanted me to follow in his footsteps, I think."

"Why haven't you?"

"It's not who I am. I can't do the same things he did. He was a leader, he could inspire people, he could make them believe. I'm not like that. I can give orders when I have to, and I can speak my mind, but I'm not charismatic like he was. I'm not a leader."


	44. Chapter 44

44

Twilight had fallen by the time we neared our destination. The air had grown cold, and my breath misted out like smoke. I was fairly exhausted, but in good spirits. Ahead of me, Skjoldr stalked forward tirelessly, and I admired his stamina. But I had spent the entire day marching through the woods, first all the way to Thirsk and now all the way back to the fort, so I felt that I had a right to be tired. I was certainly going to sleep like the dead tonight. But despite my weariness, I had kept up with the group without difficulty, although Skjoldr had set a reasonable pace for our trek south.

Some of the other men around me were probably a bit tired as well, but none of them would admit it. They were excited about the prospect of going to battle, looking forward to raising arms against their enemy. Even though all of them had been fully trained, and were probably well-experienced in fighting man-to-man, I suspected that most of these brave Nords have never seen a real battlefield or experienced an actual war. I could understand their excitement, as I had felt the same way once, a long time ago. But war held no excitement for me now, I had seen more than my share of it.

The fort was still out of view, but I knew we were close. The sky was a dark grayish blue, getting darker by the minute, but the sky was clear. There were no blizzards on the horizon this time.

Skjoldr had sent one of his men to scout ahead of us to alert the guards at the fort that we were coming as allies. Under the circumstances, it would probably not be wise to arrive unannounced at Fort Frostmoth with almost fifty armed Nords.

I heard someone shouting up ahead. Suddenly, the scout came running up at us, waving his arms. "Chief!" he cried. "Hurry! They are attacking the fort again! They came from the west just before I got there!"

"Come on!" Skjoldr bellowed, drawing his longsword.

My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't believe that Falx would order his army of mercenaries to attack the fort again, I had never even considered such an action. I jumped forward in panic as the Nords all charged after Skjoldr. And our presence here was an unbelievable stroke of luck, I could not believe that we would arrive at the same moment the fort would be attacked, it was an almost supernatural coincidence.

We charged through the trees and down the hillside leading to the fort. Before we even emerged from the trees, we could hear shouts and the unmistakable clang of swords colliding up ahead. Skjoldr led his men across the clearing in the direction of the fort, and in the gloom I could see bodies surging through the doors, dressed in ragged furs and wolfskins. Bright torches along the walls cast the clearing in a threatening orange light.

The Nords let out a fierce war cry as we flooded down to the fort, swords raised. My body, weary and exhausted just moments before, now surged with adrenaline, and I felt no tiredness at all as I ran, my sword raised high.

We descended on the men in wolfskin like wild animals, thrashing and slashing away, knocking them down and stabbing the life out of them. Screams and cries of battle now erupted over the entire inner courtyard as we broke through, more men falling under our swords and axes. I was in the rear of the group, and forced my way into the fort without my sword drawing blood, but the fight was far from over.

The entire courtyard was in chaos, with bodies swirling everywhere, half of them in dark red Legion armor, half of them in dirty wolfskins, struggling amidst the smoke of torches and burning fires.

I ran directly at a pair of men trading sword blows. I leaped at the mercenary, and he hesitated when he saw me and the other Nords, confusion on his face. I slammed into him and drove my sword up between his ribs, and his body crumpled. The Legion soldier stared in surprise at me, holding his sword up.

"We're here to help you!" I shouted over the din. "Go after the ones in wolfskin! The other Nords are on your side!"

Before he had time to respond, I was off to attack another mercenary. They had thrown bottles of burning oil onto the fort buildings, and fire was already creeping up, ready to engulf the entire guards' quarters and Cult office. Bright orange flames covered the walls like burning ivy, and people ran screaming from the doorways. When the attackers came at the unarmed Cultists, myself and some other Nords, Anjolnr among them, cut them off and engaged them in combat.

"Sasha!" someone cried out.

I turned to see Mirisa and her fiance Jeleen stumbling away from the inferno, staring at me in disbelief.

"Get out of here!" I shouted. "Get to safety!"

I didn't have time to tell them anything else, because more armed mercenaries came through the front gates and I had to run after them. The wooden shield strapped to my arm thudded with the impact of a sword, and I twisted around to slash sideways at the man attacking me. My sword edge caught his hip and he yelped in pain, ramming his sword down on me again. I danced back and we traded blows, our swords ringing like hammers on an anvil. He lunged down and I managed to dodge his thrust, before swinging my sword up to slice across his chest from his thigh to his shoulder. He fumbled onto his knees and I stabbed him in the throat, knocking his body over backwards.

Another attacker came at me and I fought him off, moving faster than him. He went down with blood gushing from his chest. All around me, people were running and screaming and fighting. A mob of unarmed workers and Cult members dashed out of the fort to escape the burning buildings. I glanced Liman in the crowd, urging the others tosafety.

By now, the Legion soldiers had realized that the Nords were not their enemies, and they teamed up to fight off the attacking mercenaries, cornering a few of them and killing them without difficulty. The attackers, realizing that they were outnumbered, started retreating. I ran after one of them and tackled him, slamming his head down hard on the cold ground. He clumsily tried to fight me off, but I cracked my sword hilt down on his head, knocking him out. Legion soldiers ran after some of the other retreating mercenaries.

"I surrender! I surrender!" one of them cried, throwing down his weapon.

The courtyard was filled with smoke, and I gasped for breath, looking around frantically. Burning embers floated in the air like fiery snow. I crawled off the unconscious mercenary and stumbled toward the center of the main courtyard, in between two massive roaring fires, as the guards' quarters and the Cult offices went up in flames. I heard terrified shouting coming from up above, and saw someone dangling out one of the second floor windows. I ran over to him and helped guide him down to the ground, and then grabbed him before he could run off.

"Is there anyone else?" I shouted. "Anyone else left inside?"

"I don't think so," he blubbered, coughing from the smoke. "I didn't see anyone ..."

"Get out of here, then," I said, pushing him off, and he ran for safety.

Fire engulfed the entire building, and a huge towering column of smoke rose up into the air. There was nothing more to be done. We could not have extinguished the fire no matter how hard we tried. The battle was over, and the dead littered the fort, most of them wearing wolfskins. But the damage had been done.

Someone came up beside me and took my arm. It was Anjolnr, a wild-eyed look of victory on his face, and blood smeared down his sword.

"Come on," he urged. "We cannot do anything to help now."

"The attackers?"

"Dead or run off. We're going after them, don't worry. Now we must help the Legion take account of their dead and wounded."

"What about ours?"

"We have four injured," Anjolnr said, a trace of pride in his voice. "But all alive."

I looked up one more time at the raging ball of fire that used to be the Cult office, and then allowed Anjolnr to lead me away from the fort. There were still a few Legion soldiers running around, trying to save whatever they could, but it was a useless task.

We left through the front gates, and I saw a gathering crowd of Legion soldiers and Nords out front, helplessly watching the fort burn. Some of them fell to their knees, defeated and exhausted, their faces smeared with ash or spattered with blood. But most of them watched the flames with a sense of injustice, their anger taking the place of despair.

Far to the left of the main crowd, I could see members of the Imperial Cult taking care of some of the wounded. And to the right in front of the Legion soldiers, they had their few prisoners sitting on the ground. There were four of them, all dirty and scowling.

"Where is Captain Cavorian?" I asked loudly.

"Here," came a deep voice.

I turned and saw Cavorian a few feet away, walking toward me. His helmet was off, and a bloody gash marked his forehead, but he looked otherwise uninjured.

"I'm sorry," I said, not knowing what else to say. "We would have come sooner, but I had no idea they would risk another attack so soon. It's a miracle that we arrived when we did."

"I was told you were dead," Cavorian said simply, ignoring my apology.

"I'm not. It's a long story."

"Are you in command of these Nords?"

"No, the clan chief from Thirsk is in charge," I explained.

As we walked to where Skjoldr and the other Nords were, Cavorian explained: "We had a few minutes warning. The last of the men from Raven Rock were just returning, and they happened to discover the attacking force sneaking along the shore. We had just enough time to get our armor on before the attack started. If not for that, they would have taken us completely by surprise." By the sound of his voice, I could tell that Cavorian was furious at himself for not anticipating a second attack. He most likely blamed himself for not being better prepared.

Skjoldr had survived the battle unscathed, and was now standing around with some of his warriors, calmly ignoring the curious and suspicious looks from the Legion soldiers around them. Two Nords were sitting on the ground nearby, one of them cradling a wounded arm, and the other wincing in pain as a hot brand was placed against his thigh to cauterize a wound.

The fact that none of the Nord warriors had been killed was another minor miracle, although we had arrived to the battle somewhat late. The Legion, I knew, was not so lucky, as I had seen several Legion bodies lying among the dead. If we had not arrived when we did, the cost in lives would have been much higher, but that was small consolation.

"Clan Chief Skjoldr Wolf-Runner," I said formally. "This is Captain Lucius Cavorian of the Imperial Legion."

Skjoldr stood tall and proud, taller than Cavorian by several inches. "We are here to help you," he said firmly, extending his hand in a show of cooperation.

Cavorian glanced briefly at me, and then nodded and shook Skjoldr's outstretched hand. "And the Legion is very grateful for your help," he said.


	45. Chapter 45

_Here are three new chapters this week, and next week I will finish this novel (finally!) and upload the final three chapters! _

_So check back next week as well to read the end of the story!_

45

Another voice cried out over the sound of the crowd, and I turned to hear someone exclaim, "Sasha? Sasha! I don't believe it!"

Gaea burst through the soldiers and hurried up to me. I smiled awkwardly as she ran into me and swept me up in an emotional embrace. "You're alive! But how did you …?"

"It's a crazy story," I laughed, my arms wrapped around her shoulders. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

"I can't believe you're alive! Reinhardt told us what happened," Gaea gushed, holding onto me. "When he came back, he told us … well, we all thought you had been killed!"

I managed to push her off, and said, "I know, I'll tell you all about it soon, I promise. But right now we have something more important to talk about."

"What do you mean?"

Cavorian and Skjoldr were still talking, exchanging formalities, and I had to interrupt them to get Cavorian's attention. "Captain, I have something I have to tell you. It's extremely important."

"What?" he asked.

"I don't think I should say it in front of everyone," I said carefully. "Let's walk over there a little bit so we can't be overheard."

When Skjoldr gave me a questioning look, I added, "It's okay, it's not about you. But you can come as well if you want to hear it."

I brought Cavorian, Skjoldr, and Gaea out of earshot of the rest of the Legion soldiers and tried to think how I was going to break the news.

"Well?" Cavorian said.

"I don't know if you're going to believe me," I said, shaking my head. "But I know who is in charge of the group of mercenaries who attacked us. I saw him with my own eyes when I was held captive at their camp. It's Falx Carius, the previous commander here at the fort."

Gaea stared in shock, her mouth hanging open. Skjoldr didn't seem to care much, his arms crossed over his broad chest. But Cavorian merely narrowed his eyes and studied me for a few moments.

"You're certain of this?" he asked quietly.

"I saw him myself, I even spoke with him. And it's not just him, Carnius Magius is there with him. He's one of the East Empire people."

"Yes, I know who Carnius Magius is," Cavorian spat. He gritted his teeth and hissed out an angry breath, and then turned to stare out toward the sea.

"Captain Carius?" Gaea said in bewilderment. "But he was … how could he?"

"I'm sorry, Gaea," I said. "He's the one behind all of this. I couldn't believe it either, but it was him. He and Magius are the ones in charge."

"But … but why?"

"The ebony mine," I said. "They want to steal the ebony."

"The ebony?" Gaea asked, incredulous. "That's what this is all about?"

I shrugged helplessly. "Falx has some kind of grudge against the Legion, but in the end, they're after the ebony, him and Magius both. They arranged all of this so they could sneak in and steal the ebony while the Nords and the Legion are fighting with each other."

Cavorian sighed deeply, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. But he wasn't reacting like I might have expected him to. He didn't seem shocked or stunned by the news, he just looked frustrated and angry.

I stepped over to him and waited until he noticed me. "You don't seem surprised," I said quietly. "You suspected this already, didn't you? I already know that Reinhardt Red-Spear works for you. The Legion was investigating Falx long before this, weren't they?"

Cavorian glanced at me with a neutral expression and then sighed before shaking his head slightly. "No, we weren't," he said. "We were investigating Carnius Magius. We've long suspected that Magius was skimming from the mine. For months, we've been getting conflicting reports from him and from the mine manager, Falco Galenus. We suspected Magius, but we never had any idea that Captain Carius was involved."

"Reinhardt never reported anything suspicious about him?"

"No, he never saw any evidence that Falx Carius was involved."

"Then I guess he fooled everyone," I said.

Gaea walked up beside me. "So what are we going to do about it? We can't just sit here all night."

I nodded. "We have to go after them, and we have to do it now. They have a head start on us, but we can catch up with them."

"Right," Cavorian said. "We'll send as many men as we can spare. Chief Wolf-Runner, will you send your men as well?"

"We came here to face the enemy," Skjoldr said. "Yes, my men will gladly chase them down like the dogs they are."

"Excellent," Cavorian said.

He went off to shout orders at his men. Most of the Legion soldiers would have to remain here to take care of the injured and to keep an eye on the fort, to possibly retrieve any supplies that survived the fire. They would also have to remain on guard throughout the night, just on the off-chance that any of Falx's men returned, although that was highly unlikely. At most, I suspected Cavorian could put together a group of twenty soldiers, but combined with Skjoldr's men, that amounted to a significant force.

Gaea stood close to me, and set her hand on my shoulder. "You know," she said softly, "You promised me that you would tell me the truth about your background."

"Yeah," I said. "I think that will have to wait."

"It's okay," she said. "Reinhardt told me some of it. I had already figured out some as well, I guess. I understand why you kept it a secret, though."

"Where is Reinhardt, anyway?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, he's with the other wounded," Gaea explained. "By the time he made it back to Raven Rock, his arm was swollen. It got infected and he's got a fever right now, but he's okay, he'll recover in a day or two. We managed to get him and the other wounded miners from Raven Rock to safety just before we were attacked."

"Let's go talk to him," I said.


	46. Chapter 46

46

Reinhardt was not in great shape. He was lying on the ground, wrapped in a blanket with a bundled up coat tucked under his head as a pillow, and even in the cold, I could see sweat dotting his forehead. His skin looked pale in the twilight, but he smiled when he saw Gaea and I approaching.

"Well, look who it is," he said in a tired voice. "Back from the dead, I see. When Mirisa said that you were here, I thought she was playing some cruel joke on me."

"Nope," I said, kneeling down beside him. "I'm here, in the flesh. It takes more than a few clumsy fools with swords to stop me."

"How in the world did you get away? You never returned to Raven Rock."

I gave Reinhardt and Gaea a quick summary of the events since I had been taken prisoner. Meeting Falx, escaping into the snowstorm, finding shelter and spending the night in the wilderness, and then my trip to Thirsk. I left out my encounter with the spriggan, as I had done with Skjoldr. Some parts of the story were just too strange to believe.

"That's incredible," Gaea said, looking at me with something approaching awe.

"I was lucky," I admitted. "Very lucky."

"You know, I told Gaea something of your personal history," Reinhardt said.

"Yes, she told me."

"But don't worry," he added with an exaggerated wink. "I didn't give her all the details. You can fill in the rest by yourself."

"Well, thanks for that," I said with a lopsided smile.

Just then, Mirisa and one of the other female Cult members came over, and Mirisa lit up when she saw me, and ran over to embrace me. "Sasha, they told me that you –"

"I know, I know," I said. "It was all a big misunderstanding, I'm afraid. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm doing okay. I'm still pretty weak, but there are a lot of people worse off than me. I've been taking care of the other wounded, like Reinhardt. The wounded soldiers are being cared for by others right now. We're going to start a bunch of campfires all around here to keep everyone warm. It's going to be a very long night."

"Yes, it certainly will be."

Off to our left, the fort was still ablaze. A few people looked up at the inferno mournfully, but for the most part, everyone ignored it and focused on the matter at hand. Without shelter, they would have to stay out here all night, and that meant starting up some fires and finding whatever food was still available. They would have to wait for the fire to burn out completely before they could even begin sorting through the wreckage for any supplies they could salvage. It was not just going to be a long night, it was going to be a long couple of days until they got temporary shelters built. It was anyone's guess how long it would take to rebuild the fort, so those temporary shelters might have to do for a very long time.

We could hear Cavorian shouting in the distance, and Gaea said, "Looks like it's time to go."

"You're going after them?" Reinhardt asked.

"Yes, we're leaving soon."

"I wish I could come with you."

"Is that so?" I chuckled. "If I remember correctly, last time you were very much against going anywhere with me."

"Perhaps I've had a change of heart."

I laughed and bent over to touch the side of his face. "You take care of yourself, Reinhardt. I'll be back before you know it."

"I bet you will. It would take an army to stop you, I think."

"You got that right."

Gaea and I ran over to Cavorian as he barked more orders. Half of the men carried torches to light the way, and Gaea accepted one herself. Oil lamps would have been more practical, but they were all inside the burning buildings.

"Are you coming, sir?" she asked.

"Damn right I am," Cavorian snarled. "We have things under control here, for now. We have to move quickly. I think that they won't be heading all the way back to their hideout, they'll probably go for Raven Rock now that the place is abandoned."

"What did the prisoners tell you?"

"Nothing of value. I would execute them all for treason right now if I had the authority. For now they'll sit in chains until we get word from the mainland."

All around me, the Legion soldiers slid swords into scabbards and fit their helmets onto their heads. I could see the light of vengeance in their eyes. I could recognize the feeling in myself. They were angry and eager to head off to avenge their fallen comrades, regardless of the dangers. Skjoldr and his men were already halfway to the treeline by the shore, going on ahead to locate tracks of the retreating mercenaries.

For my own part, I was absolutely exhausted. My legs felt weak from trudging through the snow all day, and I had only had one small meal in Thirsk before coming here. I needed some food and some long rest. The very last thing I wanted to do was go marching through the woods again in search of another battle. Pretty soon, I was going to be too tired to be much use in a fight anyway.

Cavorian glared at me. "You're coming too, I suppose."

"Of course I am," I said immediately.


	47. Chapter 47

47

As Cavorian had predicted, the tracks led us almost directly toward Raven Rock. Skjoldr and his men scouted ahead, and when we were within half a mile of the camp, Cavorian wisely instructed us to douse our torches in the snow. The enemy would surely know that we were coming, but that didn't mean we had to give away our location. Some of the Legion soldiers were uneasy about putting the torches out, which left us in almost total darkness, but Skjoldr's men could lead us the rest of the way. But we did not remain in the dark for long.

Up ahead through the wall of trees, we could eventually see the light of torches where Raven Rock used to be. The main buildings in the compound had been burned to the ground, leaving the mercenaries nothing to hide behind in an effort to ambush us, but they had placed torches along the perimeter. They would be waiting for us to attack.

I wondered why they had not left Raven Rock behind and continued all the way back to their hideout in the mountains, but I suspected that they were simply too tired to make the trip, after traveling all the way to Fort Frostmoth and then back here after their defeat. They must have hurried to stay ahead of us, so they would be tired and discouraged. Making the trek north all the way to their hideout might have stretched their endurance, even though their camp would be far easier to defend.

I smelled some kind of trap. Lighting up so many torches made some sense, because they would want to see us coming. But it would make even more sense for them to leave the compound completely dark, hoping to catch us off-guard. The torches were meant to draw our attention.

But they hadn't counted on Skjoldr and his Nord warriors. I saw Anjolnr appear from out of the darkness, his breath misting in the cold and his eyes glimmering excitedly. His sword blade looked black. He hadn't even bothered to wipe the blood from it from the fighting earlier.

"They are lying in wait for us," he whispered. "South of the mine, hiding beyond the edge of the camp."

"What does your Chief suggest?" Cavorian whispered back.

"Did they have archers when they attacked the fort?"

"Not that I know of. Probably not."

"If they don't have archers, then you should continue straight into the camp and let them see you. We will be waiting for them to come after you, and will hit them from behind. But your men will be exposed."

"I don't like that idea. Why can't we just sneak up behind them?"

Anjolnr cast a vaguely disrespectful glance at the Legion soldiers. "You would make too much noise. We can get into position without being spotted. But we can't tell exactly where they all are hiding, so we will need you to draw them out."

Gaea crept up beside me and said in a low voice, "Why don't you join up with the Nords and help them with the sneak attack?"

I had considered it. But instead, I merely shook my head. I would let Skjoldr and his men handle that part of our plan. I preferred to face my enemies head-on.

After Anjolnr had gone back to get into position, Cavorian turned to his small group of soldiers. Including Cavorian and myself, there were twenty-three of us in total. He knelt down in the snow and began muttering a prayer to the Nine Divines, and I stood by while some of the other Legion soldiers joined in the prayer. I heard the names of the Nine: Akatosh, Dibella, Mara, Talos, Stendarr, Arkay, Kynareth, Julianos, and Zenithar. But I did not join in the prayer, as I had no words for their gods and drew no comfort from them.

"It is time," Cavorian said, drawing his sword. "Head right into the middle of the camp and follow my lead. Once the fighting starts, be sure not to strike the Nords by mistake. The men who have killed our brothers will not escape us this time."

We marched straight forward and emerged into the ruined camp. The torches lit up the clearing in a flickering yellow light, every piece of wreckage and charred timber sending long shadows back to the trees. Above us, the sky was black and clear, the stars bright.

If the mercenaries did have archers, then we were prime targets now. But no arrows sailed in our direction as we walked cautiously through the destroyed camp. I glanced into the trees, hoping to scan some sign of the enemy, but something else drew my attention away. The mine office, the only building still standing, had lights in some of the windows, and I could swear that I caught motion in one of them.

A thought struck me. Falx had not attacked the fort with his hired soldiers, but might he be here at Raven Rock? Was that him I glimpsed in the window?

"Wait," Cavorian hissed.

We saw a brief flash of light in the trees, the reflection of torchlight on a swinging blade, and then a cry of surprise. In the blink of an eye, a wave of men swarmed from the trees, followed immediately by a second wave descending upon the first. Skjoldr and his men launched in from behind, and with a terrifying chorus of war cries they smashed into the unprotected rear of the mercenary ambush.

We charged right into them and the entire clearing erupted in combat as more men flooded in from other directions. The Nords had detected the main force, but there were others coming from behind the mine office to attack us from the other side.

I jumped into the fray, hacking and slashing with abandon, the sword like a huge lead weight in my arms. My body flared with weariness and exertion, but adrenaline and the surge of battle rage pushed the pain aside. The only thing keeping the fight somewhat even was that both sides were already tired and drained. But with a clash of swords and cry of anger, they collided and spread the fight across the camp.

Captain Cavorian fought like a wild man, heaving his longsword back and forth in a brutal arc, his eyes blazing with fury. In another life, he would have made a fine Nord. I caught glimpses of Skjoldr Wolf-Runner bashing aside his enemies effortlessly, towering over them like a giant, his sword a terrible weapon of judgment. The Legion soldiers fought with calculated precision, while the Nords fought wildly and unpredictably. Bodies lurched and fell, blood spilled, and the woods were filled with the cries of death and the sounds of battle.

"Finish them!" someone cried, but I didn't know which side he was on.

We were outnumbered at first, but the Nords strategy had evened the odds greatly, and we cut into the mercenaries from two sides even as they attempted to do the same to us. I ducked and dodged swinging axes, lunging forward to skewer my opponents when an opening presented itself. My arm shook with the impacts on my battered wooden shield, and would likely be numb in the morning. If I saw the morning, that is.

One of them managed to knock my sword away and slam his shoulder into me, knocking me flat on my back. I kicked him hard in the knee and it buckled underneath him, sending him tumbling down as well. Before I could get back to my feet, he raised his sword to finish me, and then a Legion soldier with flowing red hair swooped in and stabbed him in the chest.

"Come on," Gaea said breathlessly, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet.

We surged forward and battled down the ragged mercenaries, their blood splashing across the snow. The fighting went on until some of them finally realized they were doomed, and began to run off into the forest.

"Don't let them escape!" Cavorian cried.

Some of the Legion soldiers began to chase after the retreating mercenaries, but I held my ground and looked around frantically. In the heat of battle, I had forgotten all about the mine office and the person I had seen in the window. Looking back, I could see the front doors of the office hanging open and a body silhouetted in the doorway. They were trying to sneak out while we were paying attention to the retreating mercenaries.

"There!" I shouted. "In the office!"

I ran straight for the office as the person in the doorway ducked back inside, slamming the door. Someone shouted behind me but I didn't stop. The office building was built up next to the rock formation that served as the entrance to the mine, but the wooden ramp that led up to the raised deck was burned and broken. I had to jump up to the deck and climb to get to the front doors.

"Sasha, wait for me!" Gaea said as she came up behind me. A few other Legion soldiers were coming as well, and one of them shouted a warning suddenly, pointing up over my shoulder.

I dove to the side, pulling Gaea down with me, as something crashed down beside us and exploded into a ball of fire. We scrambled to the side as fire splashed across the front of the deck where the ramp entrance used to be, blocking the other soldiers from climbing up.

Gaea shrieked and swatted my leg, which was suddenly on fire. We smothered the flames and crawled away from the overbearing heat. Another oil lamp dropped down from the second-story window and crashed, spilling flaming oil across the main section of the deck. The Legion soldiers ran around to the side of the building and tried to get up to the deck from there.

"Let's wait for them," Gaea insisted.

"No way," I said, shaking out of her grip.

I ran forward, heedless of the flames, and kicked in the front door, rushing inside.


	48. Chapter 48

_Okay, here are the final three chapters of The Solstheim Conspiracy! I can't believe that I've been working on this story for four years, but I'm thrilled that I've completed it after all this time. Hopefully some of you have read the entire novel, so please leave a review if you can and let me know what you think! _

48

The mining office was not any more organized than it had been last time I had visited, barely a week before. The entire main room was a cluttered mess of desks with stacks of papers in random piles. A few lamps lit the room, and I carefully peeked around the side of the door to take a quick look around. I crouched down and rushed inside, taking cover behind one of the desks across from the door. There didn't seem to be anyone hiding on the main floor, so whoever it was had likely gone upstairs.

Gaea crept inside and readied herself by the door, looking at me expectantly. I cautiously stood up and looked across the messy room. I thought I heard the creak of floorboards above me. Gaea entered the room, sword drawn and ready, and walked around the first desk, stepping in front of me.

From the back of the room, a figure jumped up with a huge crossbow held precariously in his thin arms. With a loud crack, the bolt shot out. We had barely a second to react, and I jumped forward as the bolt slammed Gaea right in the shoulder, the impact knocking her sideways. She lost her footing and fell into a desk, knocking it over, the papers fluttering wildly to the floor.

It was Carnius Magius. He attempted to reload the crossbow but soon swung it upwards and hurled it awkwardly at me. I held up my arms to block it, and it bounced heavily off my shield, knocking me a step backward, and then smashed into the wall. One of the oil lamps hanging there toppled from its holder and fell onto the nearest desk. With a brisk whoosh of flame, the papers ignited and the desk burst into flames.

Magius drew a short sword and thrust it at me, his face twisted into a mask of anger.

"You stupid little bitch!" he snarled. "I should have let them kill you!"

He was no expert in sword-fighting, but I was tired and my movements were hampered by the cramped office. Behind me, the burning desk sent flaming scraps of paper into the air, starting more fires each time they landed on another stack of paper. Since the entire office was loaded with paper documents, it turned the building into a huge tinderbox.

I blocked Magius' slashes easily, but I could not seem to get ahead of him. I couldn't move around freely and he effectively had me blocked. He was too quick for me to get close to him, so I let my wooden shield slip free of my forearm and then launched it at him. He ducked under it, but it gave me the time to jump at him and close the gap. I grabbed his sword arm and pushed him back, our swords locked together.

"If I die here, you die too!" he spat, twisting me around. The burning desk collapsed with a crunch, and burning sheets of paper fluttered away to spread the flames farther inside the office. I could feel the heat from the growing bonfire at my back, and the stink of burning paper filled the air, the smoke stinging my eyes.

Magius struggled and managed to pull our arms apart, with victory in his beady eyes. He fought to get his blade free as I pushed against him, and he was almost was able to pull it loose. As long as I kept his sword arm pinned, we were stuck in a draw, but I didn't have time for that. I had to improvise.

I swung my knee up and hit him right between the legs, and he screamed in pain, the sword clattering from his hand. Exhausted and panting for breath, I swung my arm back and then stabbed my sword right through his heart. He quivered weakly and stared at me in shock.

"Sasha?" he gasped. "You ..."

His legs went out from underneath him and he slumped downward, blood spilling down the front of his expensive blue shirt. I let his body slide off my sword and the former East Empire company administrator flopped to the floor, his eyes staring out at nothing.

I coughed heavily, lifting up the collar of my jacket to cover my mouth. The entire room was now billowing with flames, and the smoke was getting too thick to breathe. I wanted to open the windows to get some fresh air, but that would have only fed the flames even more.

"Sasha!" Gaea called out.

She was on her feet, standing by the doors with one hand reaching up under her shoulder armor, where the crossbow bolt had struck her. I couldn't be sure through the haze of smoke, but I thought I saw blood dripping down her arm.

"Come on!" she shouted. "We have to get out of here!"

"You go on," I said, waving her on. "I can't get back to the door. I'm going to go upstairs."

"But the entire building is going to burn down!"

"Falx is up there, Gaea," I said. "I know he is."

"Who cares? Let him burn!"

"I can't do that," I said, shaking my head. "I have to go after him."

Gaea looked at me pleadingly. "The Captain has the entire building surrounded, there's no way Falx is going to escape. And if he stays in here, he's going to die. He's not worth it. Just let it go, Sasha, please."

I walked over to the stairs, getting away from the blazing heat of the growing inferno. I pulled off my jacket, as the heat was too much. I coughed again and picked up my shield, which lay on the floor where I had thrown it.

"I'm sorry," I said, "but I have to do this."

"No, you don't," Gaea insisted. "Falx is a master swordsman, Sasha! You're not in any condition to try to face him alone! He'll kill you!"

"I won't be very long," I promised. "Just wait outside for me, Gaea. I promise I'll make it out before it's too late. And when this is over, we can finally spend time some together, I promise."

Gaea tried to protest, but the fire finally spread so much that she had to back out to the door. She cast me one final, scared look and then nodded in resignation before heading outside to escape the flames.

I paused at the foot of the stairs, my sword feeling heavy in my hand. She was right, of course. I was in no condition to go up against Falx now. I had already been tired before we even arrived at Raven Rock, and I had already taken part in the battle and then fought Carnius Magius as well. I was almost dead on my feet, I was so tired.

Falx would be ready and rested. And if he was half as good as I thought he was, then he was probably capable of defeating me easily. But that didn't matter. I had faced odds not much better than this many times before. If I was going to die in combat, then it certainly wasn't going to be against a deranged coward like Falx. Besides, it was a personal matter with him.

I climbed the stairs and headed up to my destiny.


	49. Chapter 49

49

Smoke followed me up to the second floor, drifting up the stairs like a growing fog. My eyes watered and my throat felt raw as I reached the top of the stairs, my sword and shield heavy in my arms. Wisps of smoke crept up from between the floorboards as the ground floor beneath me continued to burn. How long until the floor collapsed? Ten minutes? Maybe only five?

Falx stood with his back to me, facing one of the windows. I had made no effort to be quiet, so he knew I was there. He was dressed in the same black trousers and red silk shirt I had seen him in last time, and a heavy fur cloak was slung over a nearby chair. A sword scabbard hung at his side.

"It's over, Falx," I said when he did not turn to face me. The heat from the rising fire made the entire building seem like the inside of an oven. It was sweltering, my whole body felt slick with sweat and grime.

He quickly turned and stared at me in disbelief. Of course, he had known that someone had come for him, but he hadn't known it was me.

"Sasha?" he asked in amazement. "How could you …?"

"What?" I asked. "Did you think I would die out in the cold? I'm a Nord. I was born in a snowstorm, I feel right at home in the snow."

Falx laughed humorlessly, his smile another false mask. "And I suppose Carnius is no longer with us?"

"I'm afraid that I had to kill him."

"Oh, that's a pity. Have you thought about my offer?" he asked awkwardly, his hand reaching down for the handle of his sword. "It's still open to you. We can leave here, just you and I, we can get away and start over somewhere else."

I just shook my head. I could hear the floorboards creaking and splintering under my feet, the fire coming closer. "It's too late for that, I'm afraid," I said, stepping towards him. "But I'll make you an offer. Think hard on it. The Legion is waiting outside for you. Drop your sword and surrender and I'll let you live."

He smiled maniacally, sweat dripping down his face, his hand closing on the sword handle. "What is my other option?"

"Then I'll kill you right now. But I'll have to be quick about it, because we don't have much time."

"You're right about that," Falx said.

He drew his blade in one short swing of his arm and came at me with a sideways swipe, his long black hair whipping around his face. I raised my shield, blocked his strike, and braced myself before lunging forward and slamming my sword against his, the clang of metal on metal ringing in my ears. Falx pivoted and struck twice, his thrusts fast and accurate, but I batted them aside and held my ground. He was only testing me.

Smoke filled the room, billowing up from the stairs, and the entire building seemed to creak unsteadily around us. When the floor creaked threateningly, Falx backed up in a panic, looking to his left and right as if in search of a way out.

But I didn't care about the fire. I didn't care about the Legion. I didn't really care much if I even lived or died right now. Instead, I poured my anger and my fear and my hate into my sword arm and directed it at my opponent, slashing my sword down and down again, forcing him on the defensive. I knew what the battle rage felt like, but this was not the same.

I hated Falx for what he had done. Not just the breaking of his oath and the death of his comrades, for that alone he deserved to die. And not just for his lies and his betrayals, or for his selfishness and his greed. He deserved my scorn and my disgust for those actions.

But I hated him for something deeper, something more personal. I realized that my actions were born from my own selfishness, and not for some more honorable motive. I didn't hate him for lying and stealing and killing the men he was sword to protect.

I hated him because I had loved him once. I hated him because I felt like a fool for believing in him.

We traded blows, our swords ringing out, circling each other warily in the cramped confines of the office. Falx kicked a table out of the way to make more room, and when it struck the floor, burning embers burst from the weakened floorboards. The smoke was so thick now that it became hard to breathe, and the heat felt like it was cooking us alive. Both of us painfully panted for breath, our strikes and blocks becoming slower and weaker each passing moment. Sweat rolled down my face like a torrent, and the bottom of my sword hilt dripped with sweat from my hand.

But I would not stop, I kept pressing him back, hoping he would see reason and drop his sword. Instead, he seemed intent on making me kill him.

"It's not too late," I gasped.

"It was always too late," Falx said, and I couldn't tell if the drips down his cheeks were sweat or tears.

With a booming crash and a tremendous surge of flames, the center of the floor collapsed into a swirling maelstrom of flames and smoke. A tower of fire erupted like a volcano, and fire swept across the floors and up the walls. The heat smashed into me like a physical force and threw me backward against the windows. For a brief second, I felt the cold night air at my back, but then I was enveloped in burning heat once more as I crumpled weakly to the floor, enveloped in a swirling cloud of black smoke. As the fire ate through the rest of the building, the floor crumbled and trembled underneath me, and I knew that I had only seconds left.

Through the blinding haze of smoke and burning embers, I could see Falx standing over me, his arms slack at his sides, his sword point touching the floor.

"I did not want this," he said, his voice muffled from the roar of the flames. "I wish things could have been different, I hope you believe that. Maybe if I had met you months ago, none of this would have happened. You were the only good thing I ever knew on this damned island."

I fumbled with the sword at my side, almost too tired to lift it. With a quick swipe of his own blade, he knocked it from my hand and it clattered away into the flames.

"I'm not letting you escape," I spat. "So go ahead and kill me."

"No," Falx said. "You know I can't do that. But I'm not going to let them take me away in chains."

He dropped his sword and slowly turned away. I struggled to my feet as Falx walked toward the blazing inferno, walking to his death.

"No!" I screamed, and leaped after him. I slammed into him and both of us fell to the floor, which felt hot enough to burn my skin. Falx struggled weakly, but I punched him as hard as I could manage, stunning him.

"No," I wheezed, feeling lightheaded. "No, I'm not letting you escape that way. You're coming with me!"

I don't know how I managed to pull him to his feet, but whatever final reserves of strength I had were now exhausted. I stumbled to the open window, pulling him with me, and then shoved him with with both hands, pushing him right out the window. His body went limp and he fell like a sack of grain.

I slumped against the wall and then climbed up myself, dizzy and breathless, as the rest of the floor finally gave way under me, descending down into the raging fire below. The entire mining office seemed to cave in on itself into a glowing pit of fire. I teetered on the windowsill momentarily, and then a wave of fire swept up, throwing me out into the night air.

I was unconscious before I even hit the ground.


	50. Epilogue

Epilogue

Two Imperial Legion ships were tied at the dock, and two dozen men swiftly unloaded food, medical supplies, and clothing onto the shore. Twenty Legion soldiers in shining armor marched up to the fort, or what remained of it. Another ship was scheduled to arrive in a few hours, carrying an architect, carpenters and masons, and tools and construction supplies. Already they were clearing away the wreckage of the fort and preparing to rebuild.

I stood by the shore, wrapping my arms around myself and enjoying the cold breeze. My throat was still sore and my voice had a raspy sound to it, but that would go away in another day or two. The burns on my arms and back would also heal, but they would leave scars behind. I was okay with scars. My father once told me that scars were evidence of bravery and to show them proudly. I would not have called the ragged burn marks along my shoulders and across my upper back evidence of anything but foolishness, but I would still be proud of them.

Although my wounds could have been far worse. I had fallen from the window to the burning deck, and if I had landed on my stomach instead of my back, then I would likely have burns across my face. Instead, I just burned my back, and my hair was shorter than it used to be. They had to pull me off of the deck and smother the flames with snow. I didn't remember any of that, thankfully.

I shivered a bit and smiled to myself, watching the workers unpack crates and boxes from the ships. One of them was the weekly supply ship, and the captain stood on the deck and waved to me, and I smiled and waved back. When more soldiers came down from the fort with a cart to haul the supplies back, I decided to follow them up the dirt road to the remains of the fort.

Little was left except an outline of the main wall, and the corner towers, which were mostly intact, since they were built of stone instead of wood. But the interior of the fort was nothing but ashes and debris. I didn't bother to go inside, since I would only be in the way there. Lined up in rows outside the fort were tents large and small, temporary shelter for the dozens of people still assigned there, Legion soldiers and Imperial cultists alike.

The Nords had returned to their villages the morning after the attack at Raven Rock, celebrating their victory and drunk with the thrill of battle. By the time I had woken up, most of them had gone. Skjoldr Wolf-Runner and a few others had remained to see me before they left, and they cautiously asked me what my plans were, careful to not give away my identity. I had told them that I didn't know yet, and that was the truth. They had wished me luck, promised that I was welcome in Thirsk always, and then departed for home.

I wandered over toward the tents, and several guards watched me pass. Rumors of my exploits had spread through the camp almost as soon as we had returned, and already the soldiers were calling me the Nord Battle Queen and other ridiculous nicknames, while at the same time showing me a fair amount of respect and loyalty. I smiled politely and tried to ignore it, but I guess I had developed a bit of a reputation, and losing a reputation was much harder than gaining one.

I caught a glimpse of Gaea and Cavorian by the fort entrance, directing traffic and ordering men around. Gaea was in her armor, apparently none the worse for wear after getting hit with a crossbow bolt a few days before. It had barely penetrated her armor and left her with nothing but a minor flesh wound and a nasty bruise. If Carnius Magius had aimed a bit to the right and slightly higher, it might have struck her in the throat. Thankfully, he had been aiming for me instead.

"Hello there, Captain Artoria," I said with a smile.

"Very funny," Gaea said, smiling back. "I'm only acting as Captain."

"Not yet, you're not," Cavorian reminded her. "Don't get ahead of yourself. As long as I'm still here, there's only one Captain on Solstheim, and that's me."

"Yes, sir," Gaea said, holding back her smile.

"And what do you think you're doing out here?" Cavorian said, glaring at me almost comically. "Shouldn't you be sleeping or wrestling a grizzly bear, or whatever it is that Nords do for fun?"

"There aren't any grizzly bears around," I said with a shrug. "So I went for a walk down to the shore. They were unloading the boats."

"Good," Cavorian grunted. "Hopefully we can get everything brought up here and sorted out by midday. Then we can transport the prisoners to the ships and hold them there until we leave tomorrow."

All the prisoners taken during the attack on the fort and the subsequent attack on Raven Rock were currently being held on the other side of the fort. The Legion had managed to salvage some leg and wrist irons from the basement of the armory and shackled the prisoners together, and then staked the chains into the ground to keep anyone from escaping. The prisoners were given a blanket and allowed to sleep on the ground, and had a dozen Legion soldiers watching them at all times.

"You're still planning on leaving so soon?"

Cavorian nodded and reached up to rub his mustache thoughtfully. "My superiors back in the Imperial City will want a report as soon as possible. And there is a lot of work to be done, and no reason for me to stick around here. Once the construction starts and things get settled, Artoria will be in charge until the new commander arrives in a few weeks. They haven't even chosen someone for the job yet."

"Hopefully they choose better than they did last time," Gaea muttered.

"I agree," Cavorian said. "But I think the Legion also needs to improve the morale here from the ground up. Prevent the men here from getting so frustrated and insubordinate. Perhaps limit the assignments to six months instead of a year, that sort of thing. Poor morale is partly to blame for this whole disaster, so the Legion will have to deal with that problem so this sort of thing doesn't happen again."

As the first cartload of supplies approached the fort, Cavorian wandered off to yell orders and tell everyone where to go.

"It's a shame he can't stay here as the commander," Gaea said.

"He probably doesn't want to," I replied. "He needs problems to solve and constant action to keep him occupied. Staying here would drive him nuts."

"Good point," Gaea chuckled. She stepped closer and gave my hand a squeeze. "I better go follow him before he misses me. I'll be around later."

"Okay then, see you for dinner."

"Alright," she said, trailing after Cavorian.

I tucked my hands into my pockets and rocked back and forth on my heels absentmindedly, when I noticed two Legion guards watching me from the fort entrance. When they saw me noticing them, they tried to pretend they were doing something else.

"What are you two looking at?" I asked.

"Nothing, ma'am," one of them said awkwardly.

"Well, go look at nothing somewhere else."

They made themselves scarce, and I shook my head in vague annoyance. One of the other juicy pieces of gossip circulating through the camp, aside from my nearly suicidal assault on a burning building, was the growing relationship between Gaea and I. Pretty much everyone, including Cavorian himself as far as I knew, suspected that Gaea and I were either lovers or would soon become lovers. Some of them had already known that Gaea was attracted to women, and I did nothing to quell such rumors about myself, so it didn't bother me.

But regardless of my close relationship with her, the most that we could ever be was very close friends. I could love her like a sister, but not as a partner. She understood that and respected my feelings, but she still made affectionate little gestures like touching my hand on occasion. My only worry was that if I stayed at the fort too long, she might think I intended to stay there with her.

There was nothing for me to do, so I went back to the tent area and sat around a campfire with Mirisa, her fiance Jeleen, and some of the other Cultists and we chatted for awhile. A little while later, Reinhardt Red-Spear returned to the fort from his trip north to his cabin in the woods. I hadn't even realized until he had left the day before that I had never learned where Reinhardt actually lived. It turned out that he usually resided in a secluded cabin northwest of the fort, although he spent a great deal of time here as well as the Nord villages. He returned with a pack full of supplies, dried meat and food, and some healing potions and medical items.

As he handed them out to the Cult members and other civilians resting around the tents, I walked up to him. "Feeling better?" I asked.

He sighed and stretched his back, shaking his head. "Not really. I probably should have waited another day before heading back."

"You were still pretty sick from the infection, weren't you?"

He shrugged. "I didn't feel like sitting around here for another day."

"How's your arm?"

Reinhardt pulled up his sleeve to show off the dark red scabs marking the entrance and exit wounds from the arrow that had gone through his forearm. The area around the scabs was tender and sore, but there was no pus and it was no longer infected.

"That's almost as bad as my arm," I said.

Reinhardt rolled his sleeve back down. "Well, let's not bother to compare scars. I have a feeling you have more war wounds than me."

"Not too many more. I can usually get away without a scratch."

"Sure you can," Reinhardt said with a grin. "They told me your hair caught on fire."

"The whole building was on fire," I said defensively. "Besides, I think I like my hair shorter like this."

Since Reinhardt and I were still not fully recovered from our injuries, we both decided to get some rest in the afternoon. I laid down on some blankets and propped up my jacket under my head, and sat back to watch the Legion soldiers bring up more cartloads of supplies and sort them out in front of the line of tents. There was more warm clothing and blankets, weapons and armor, crates and barrels of food and drink, pots and kitchen utensils, rolls of parchment with ink and quills, bandages and more medical supplies, even pouches full of spell components as well as a mortar and pestle to combine them. Almost everything in the entire fort had been destroyed in the fire, so that meant the Legion had to ship everything here as if stocking up a brand new outpost. And on top of that, Raven Rock also had to be rebuilt. In the coming days, there would be many more supply ships.

"How long do you think it will be until things get back to normal?" I asked Reinhardt, who lay beside me, wrapped up in more blankets.

He sipped from a jug of water. "It will probably take at least two months to rebuild the fort, so not until then. They're going to build the command office first. Once the roof is on, that will serve as temporary housing until the guard quarters and Cult office are finished."

"Are you going to stay here for awhile and help out?"

He gave me a sideways glance. "I should be asking you that question."

I have not given much thought yet to my future. "I'll stay here for a little while, I guess," I said after a moment. "The Nords know who I am now, and Skjoldr told me that I was welcome in Thirsk whenever I wanted. I was thinking I might spend some time up there, spend some time with my own people for a change. Maybe go and visit the northern tribes as well."

"What about Skyrim?"

"I don't know. Maybe going back there is a bad idea."

"Worried what they might make of your return?"

"Something like that," I admitted. "If I go back home, they might ..." I hesitated, not sure what I meant to say. "They might expect me to continue on with my father's fight. They might want me to go to war again, to live up to his memory. But I don't want to do that, I just want to live a normal life."

Reinhardt nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds like a good idea. Living a normal life might be nice."

I rolled onto my side, facing him, and propped my head up on my arm. "Is that what you want too? A normal life?" I asked.

"Well, I think my career as an informant is just about over," Reinhardt chuckled. "My job was to gather information and keep track of what was happening here at the fort, but I totally blew that mission. My reports to Cavorian were practically useless in retrospect. Maybe it's time for me to find a new occupation."

"I don't even have an occupation at all," I sighed. "I need to figure out what I'm going to do for a living. I don't want to be a fighter anymore, I've seen enough of combat and conflict to last me the rest of my life."

We ate some lunch and talked about our lives for awhile. Reinhardt told me that he had been born in Skyrim but moved to Vvardenfell when he was fourteen to work in the Fighter's Guild, which then led to connections in the Legion, which led to his eventual assignment here on Solstheim. I told him a little about my father and our final battle that came to be known as the Snow-Crown Rebellion, and about my years in prison. I regretted the fact that I didn't really have much to tell about my life. I hadn't done very much with my life so far, except be a soldier and then a prisoner. I suddenly realized how much I had missed.

"They're taking the prisoners down to the boats," Reinhardt said, pointing.

I sat up to see Cavorian and Gaea leading a group of ragged-looking prisoners toward the front of the fort. They were chained together and shuffled in their shackles. A few people took the time to throw clumps of dirt at them or spit curses at them. I slid out of my blanket and slowly stood up.

"Just let it go, Sasha," Reinhardt said, looking up at me.

"I'll be just a minute," I said as I stepped away.

They lined up the prisoners in a row and moved on to get the next group. There were about twenty-five prisoners in all, some of them nursing injuries. The first group of eight stood wearily in their chains, looking at the ground or looking at their dirty hands. For the most part, they were dressed in whatever clothes they had been captured in.

Falx's red silk shirt was torn and smudged with soot, one arm exposed when the sleeve had been ripped away. A bandage was wrapped around his upper arm and shoulder, and another was wrapped around his head to cover the burns he had suffered when he fell from the window. His jet black hair dangled across his forehead like dead seaweed, and his eyes were sunken with bags underneath them. Blood was smeared across his cheek from a split lip that no one had bothered to put ointment on. His body seemed to sag under the weight of the shackles, and I stood in front of him for almost a minute before he noticed me.

"Come to wish me goodbye?" he asked wearily, blinking his eyes. "Or did you finally change your mind and decide to join me?"

I crossed my arms and studied him, wondering if I still had the energy to hate him. But I could only feel sorry for him now, chained and defeated as he was. My hate had burned away in the fire. Falx wasn't evil, but there was something deeply wrong with him, something I could not repair.

"I thought you might want to have one last look at me before they take you away," I said. "I've spent some time in the Imperial prison myself, so I know what it's like there, and I can tell you that it isn't very fun. You'll probably spend the rest of your life there."

Falx managed a broken smile. "They might let me out in twenty or thirty years. If they do let me out some day, do you think I could come and see you? Would twenty years be enough time for you to forgive me?"

"No, I don't think so. You broke my heart, Falx."

"That's the only regret I have," he said solemnly.

The Legion soldiers yanked on the chains and the prisoners began walking down the road toward the dock. Falx cast one final, sad glance at me and then shuffled in his chains to keep up. I stepped away as the rest of the prisoners were taken away from the fort, watching them go with a sense of accomplishment and the feeling that some justice had been served. Whatever my own crimes against the Legion were, this time I had done the right thing. Within a few minutes, the prisoners were gone, the sound of their chains fading away in the distance.

"Good riddance," Cavorian grunted, sneaking up beside me.

"Do you still wish to have them all executed?" I asked.

He rubbed his mustache. "Murderers and thieves, the lot of them. Even the disgraced Captain Carius would be better off in a shallow grave. But I'm not the one who makes those decisions. Most of them will probably be thrown in prison, maybe some of them sold into slavery on Morrowind, perhaps. A few might see the gallows, though."

"Have your men checked out the hideout in the mountains?"

"Yes, my men came back this morning and said the entire compound was deserted. It's possible a few might have escaped, but where would they escape to? If the wilderness doesn't kill them, the Nords might."

"That's true," I said. "I guess that the Legion and the Nords have a real alliance now, don't they? We worked well together the other day."

"That we did," Cavorian said with a short nod. "Let's see if we can maintain that spirit of cooperation. It would serve us well in the future."

"It certainly would," I agreed.

"I better go down to the ships to oversee the loading of the prisoners," Cavorian said.

"Don't let me stop you," I said. "As for me, I think I'm going to curl up in a blanket and take a nap until dinner. Have a good day, Captain," I said as I walked away.

"And to you too," Cavorian said. "Have a good day, Ms. Snow-Crown."

I froze in mid-step and felt my breath catch in my throat. I thought maybe I had misheard him. But no, he had called me by my real name.

I turned slowly to see Cavorian standing where I had left him, his hands on his hips and a smug smile on his face. He tilted his head a bit and reached up to stroke his mustache again.

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"Since I first saw you here," he said with a grin. "You don't think I could have forgotten about the Snow Wolf's daughter, do you? I was there when they took you prisoner after the rebellion, although I suppose you didn't see me."

I didn't even know what to say, so I just shook my head. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to take me prisoner too?"

"Why would I do that?" Cavorian asked. "You were released from prison by official decree. I have nothing to arrest you for."

"Official decree?" I asked incredulously.

Cavorian looked curiously at me. "You mean you don't know why they set you free from prison?"

"I have no idea at all. No one told me anything," I said. "They dumped me in Morrowind and gave me a package to deliver. I thought some politician had paid for my release for some reason."

Cavorian let out a short laugh and stepped toward me. He lowered his voice somewhat and said, "Sasha, your release decree was signed by the Emperor himself, Uriel Septim VII. He's the one who ordered your release."

"What?" I said, dumbfounded. "Why in the world would the Emperor care about someone like me? How did he know I even existed?"

"I don't know why he set you free," Cavorian said. "But I do know that the Emperor is a peculiar man. He believes in prophecies and visions of the future, things like that. He's been known to give out strange orders from time to time, based on visions he has, what he thinks are predictions of the future."

"And … he had a vision about me?"

"Maybe," Cavorian said with a shrug. "But he must have had some very important reason to release a dangerous enemy of the Imperial Legion like you."

"My father was the dangerous one," I said. "I'm not your enemy, I don't know if I ever really was."

Cavorian gave me a warm smile. "I know you're not," he said. "Maybe the Emperor knows it too, maybe that's why he set you free. Just something to think about."

When I turned to respond, Cavorian was already heading down the road to the dock, shouting an order to a passing guard. I remained there for a few minutes, going over what he had said a few more times, until I was hopelessly confused.

I wandered around the walls of the fort, lost in my thoughts. Uriel Septim himself had been the one to sign my release? Cavorian's talk of prophecies and predictions utterly bewildered me, and I could not even fathom how I could be involved in any kind of prophecy. It all seemed too crazy to me.

"There you are," Reinhardt said, coming up behind me. "We were wondering where you had gone."

"I was just thinking," I said. "Cavorian told me something pretty strange."

"What did he say?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Maybe later. But it turns out Cavorian knows who I really am, and he says that my release from prison was official, so I'm a free citizen again."

"That sounds like good news," Reinhardt said.

"I suppose it is."

"So what are you going to do with your new found freedom?"

"I don't know," I said softly, wrapping my arms around myself as a cold wind blew across the clearing. Lonely flakes of snow drifted here and there, as the sky began to cloud up.

"What little money I had burned up in the fort. I have no useful skills except with a sword, and I don't want to do that anymore. All I have are the clothes on my back, just like when they dropped me off in Seyda Neen. Maybe I'll stick around here and get a job as a miner when Raven Rock opens back up," I said with a short laugh.

Reinhardt stood beside me and looked into the trees. "I was thinking about packing up and moving back to Morrowind," he said. "I still have some friends in the Fighter's Guild. I could find a job in Balmora."

"That's where I was supposed to go," I said. "I was supposed to meet someone in Balmora and give him that package."

"Well, maybe you could come along with me."

"I threw the package away," I chuckled. "And besides, I don't know who –"

I turned and suddenly noticed the way that Reinhardt was looking at me, and I lost my train of thought. I realized that his invitation was more than just an offer to travel with him. I had not even considered the idea that Reinhardt might have feelings for me.

"Reinhardt," I said warily. "Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"Maybe," he said, stepping closer to me. When we were almost touching, he lifted his hands to rub my arms gently, looking into my eyes.

I smirked and turned away from him. "I don't know about this," I said, but he continued to stroke my arms. "You said some very bad things about me the other day. You said I was going to get you killed, you said I was being stupid. You even called me a brat, if I remember correctly."

He lowered his head to whisper in my ear, "I did call you a brat. But that's only because you were acting like a brat. It's one of the things I like about you."

"I thought you liked your women more traditional?"

"I might have been lying just a bit about that."

I didn't know how to feel, but I stood there quietly and let Reinhardt's hands move up my arms and to my shoulders. Reinhardt was a good man, I was sure of that. And he was handsome in his own way. He had his faults, but I realized with a smile that his own faults were my own faults as well. Maybe the two of us were a perfect match.

Reinhardt leaned closer against me, and when I was certain he was about to try to kiss me, I quickly stepped away and left him embracing empty air.

"You're going to have to work a lot harder than that," I said with a wide smile, skipping away from him. "I like to play hard to get."

"That's what I was hoping you would say," Reinhardt said.

We returned to the tent area a little while later, walking hand in hand. The smell of cooking food greeted us, and we sat down to share a meal with the Imperial Cult members, Mirisa and Jeleen, and Liman was there as well.

They were my friends, I thought. They weren't just members of the Cult or the Legion, I realized, they were more than that. Reinhardt, Gaea, even grouchy old Captain Cavorian. They were my friends, my family. We sat together and laughed and joked, until the sun began to set and the sky became dark, and the campfires were loaded with firewood to keep them bright throughout the night.

I walked out past the tents and stood out in the open, the cold air chilling me, my breath coming out in white puffs. Reinhardt came up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. I smiled to myself and leaned back against him.

"Will you come to Balmora with me?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I think I will. But not yet, we have to stay at least until the fort is completed."

"Agreed, we'll stay until then."

"It still feels strange to me, though."

"What does?"

"Being happy," I said. "Having a future. I never thought I might have a chance to live a normal life. I don't even know what a normal life is like."

"I'm sure we'll do just fine," Reinhard said, holding me close.

We stood together out in the evening air, looking out beyond the trees to the ocean on the horizon, as a gentle snow began to fall.


End file.
